Awakening
by Luthluniel
Summary: What happens when Booth wakes up from the coma? The story starts at the end of the 4th season, and it's my vision of what could happen in the beginnign of the 5th. Booth - Bones.
1. Awakening from a dream

Hi everyone!

This is my first attempt to write a fic, and this is as well my first try with an English one, so, please be understanding with the way it has been written, but I'll appreciate every comment about the story.

**Warning**: This story could contain spoilers from 5th season, so if you don't want to know anything about it, just don't read it. Although I have to say that this is just my own imagination, maybe nothing of this is going to happen at the real show…

**Disclaimer**: BONES is property of FOX, not mine, nor the characters… this is just for my own fun.

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Booth was in the hospital bed, with his head in a bandage, without knowing where he was or what time, day and year it was too. He noticed a woman by his side speaking to him, but he wasn't listening to her. And then, like a wave, every memory returned to his head, but, mixed with the marvelous dream he was having a few seconds ago, without being able to recognize the reality of the dream. He just didn't understand why he was in that bed, connected to a lot of noisy machines, if a few moments ago he was at their own nightclub discussing about… wait… pregnancy?

"Who are you?" He asked, making her be in shock a few seconds. "I mean… what Temperance are you? ¿Are you pregnant? Are we married? Do we own a nightclub called The Lab? Are you…"

"Hey… wait, wait a second, take it easy Booth, I don't understand what you're talking about, I just understand the first question, and the answer is no, I'm not pregnant, but hey, slow down, please…"

"I'm sorry, I think I'm a little confused right now."

"Yes, you are, that's for sure. But please, take it easy. First of all, how are you? How do you feel?"

"I'm a little dazed, I'm… I don't know."

"Ok, don't worry. I'm going to call the nurse so she can examine you."

"Ok." He seemed really confused and nervous.

"Booth, relax." She put her hand in his shoulder to make him feel she was there, and that she will be there as soon as the nurses and the doctor determine that he was ok. "We can talk all that you want after they check on you, ok?" She said.

The nurses came after Bones called for them, and examined Booth constants, and a few moments later the doctor came to the room as well, and he determined that Booth would be released and ready to go home in a few days, as soon as they got all the test results and while everything was normal. The doctor told Booth that he was to be patient, because he had just woken a few minutes ago, so he couldn't make any effort and he had to sleep as soon as he felt tired.

After the doctor was gone he was more relaxed, knowing that he should be just a few days more in the hospital. But he had a lot of questions that needed an explanation.

"Bones, could you remember me why I'm here? I'm a little confused right now, I don't understand…"

"You are here because you had an astrocytoma that needed surgery to be removed."

"In English, please…"

"Ok, sorry, you had a benign tumor in your brain that made you hallucinate, you saw a cartoon character in the interrogation room while we were with a suspect, and I told you that there was something wrong in you. I took you here and the docs determine that you had a tumor that needed to be removed, although it was a benign one. That's why you're here. Don't you remember any of this?"

"Yes, I remember, but somehow it seems like it was ages ago…"

"Booth, the other question you made me earlier… I don't understand why were you asking if we are married, or the other one about a nightclub… I think you had a dream while you were in the coma, and maybe it has been a very real one. What do you remember about yourself?"

"I'm an FBI agent, that's for sure, but I have a memory about own a nightclub called The Lab… but I also remember your lab, and they are just the same place, and that could not be possible…"

"Booth, you must rest, maybe everything will fit to you after you sleep a few hours. You have been through cerebral surgery four days ago, been in a coma for these four days, I think that these reasons could made you confuse the dreams with the reality, but I'm sure that everything will fit again to you if you rest. Maybe it will take some time to fix everything, but don't worry, everything will be normal again soon, I'm sure."

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I'm right. Just try to sleep. We can talk again when you feel up to it, ok?"

"Ok." He said, with not much conviction in his voice. "Bones…"

"Yes?"

"Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Of course, don't worry, I'll be here all the time."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now sleep."

Booth closed his eyes and slept for five or six hours, and in this time Bones talked with Angela, Rebecca, Deputy Director Cullen, and Cam. Angela and Cam came to see Booth, but while he was sleeping they stayed out of the room with Bones. She didn't tell them about the previous conversation with Booth, she just thought it wasn't necessary to worry them because he probably would be ok when he wakes up. Rebecca wanted to come too, but Parker was at school and while Booth was asleep he couldn't talk to him and she thought it would be a better idea come to the hospital when he was awake. Cullen told her the same as Rebecca, he will come to see Booth when he was awake, and he was sure that she would care for him the best way.

Then Bones sat in the room besides Booth and without make any noise, she opened her laptop and started a new chapter of her book.

A few hours later the doctor came again and found Bones out of the room talking by her cellular with her father. She quickly hung up after say goodbye to him.

"Hello Dr. Stark. I'd like to talk to you about some things, if you have a moment."

"Of course, just let me check Booth a second and I'll be with you." He entered the room and checked the machines, the report of the nurses about temperature, the blood pressure, and other results. Then he met Bones out of the room.

"Well, it seems that everything is ok. What do you want to talk about, Dr. Brennan?"

"When he woke up today, he was a little confused about what reality was and what a dream, like he couldn't distinguish between them. He was asking me questions with no sense, at least to me. He remember who is he, but he seems to be mixing the real him with the dreamed one. I've told him that he must relax and rest, that everything will fit to him after sleep, because this could be due to the surgery and the coma, and that perhaps he will need a few days to be able to separate the reality of the dream. Am I correct?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm sure this is happening to him as a result of the surgery. I think it's normal that after this kind of surgery, and the first time he wakes up, he must be confused, because his brain isn't working full yet. But it's a matter of time, and not too much time in fact, that he recovers all his brain functions. Don't worry for this, it isn't going to be a problem."

"Thank you very much Dr. Stark, I'm a lot more relaxed now. I don't know too much about how the human brain works, and I appreciate your explanations and support a lot."

"You're welcome, Dr. Brennan. Anytime you need me, just call me. Now I have to visit other patients. Good bye."

"Good bye." She said to the doctor as he left her in front of the door. She came in and sat in the uncomfortable chair for the visits and stared at him for some minutes. Then she leaned her head on the bed and fell asleep.

To be continued...

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Hey... this is just the beginning, and I'll try to update at least once a week, so...

Please review... I need your opinions to make a good story... so if you want to give me some advice, please, I'm waiting for it!! Tx!!!!!!


	2. Leaving

Hi everybody again,

This is the second chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as everyone, Bones is not mine…

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Leaving

Booth woke up, slowly being conscious of the reality. When he opened his eyes saw Bones full asleep with her head on the bed, in an uncomfortable position. She will have a bad stiff neck. He began to think about his life memories, and was aware that he can distinguish clearly the reality from the dream, he knew exactly what memories were real and what weren't. But this time weren't the memories themselves but the feelings he had in his dream what made him be stunned again, the feelings he had for Bones, more exactly. It was so real… they were married and they were happy, and they were in lo…

"Oh, My God."

This was the first time he allowed himself to take his feelings for her for granted, the real ones, not the ones he always tried to show to everyone. Although he didn't always have all the success he'd wanted in doing so. He was overwhelmed. He was getting worked up in his bed, with the panic in his face. But somehow he moved enough to wake up Bones from her sleep, with evident pain in her neck.

"Hey." She told, rubbing the nape of her neck.

"Hey." He answered, hiding successfully that insolent panic of his face.

"How are you now? Do you feel better?"

"Yes, really, a lot better. You were right, as always. When I woke up I knew exactly what memories were real and what weren't. Although I'm a little dazed yet, you know."

"Well, like the doctor said to you before, you have to be patient. You have just woken up a few hours ago, and you only took about six hours of normal sleep since then, so, just don't want to rush. You'll be at home in a few days." She told him while putting her hand lovingly on his forearm.

"You're right again." He said looking to her hand, trying to hide every emotion of his face.

"I'm always right, you know that." She said with a little smile. "Oh, some people called to ask if they could come to visit you. Rebecca asked me if I can call her as soon as you wake up, and if you want, she can bring Parker with her."

"Yes, of course I want." He said with a big smile.

"Do you feel strong enough for them to come visit you?"

"Yep, I really want to see Parker right now, and, if you have forgotten it, I'm always strong enough for anything or anyone." He said full of himself, but a second later he was laughing.

"Ooook. Whatever you said." Taking a deep breath she continued. "You're brother was here a few hours ago, and he said he'll come back again this afternoon too. Cullen called too, he said that he'll come to tell you that he wishes you a quick recovery because he wants to see you in the field as soon as possible, or he'll kick your ass. As soon as you wake up, too." She said smiling. "And Cam, Angela and Hodgins want to visit you too. But I think it's going to be too much for you right now."

"Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm not tired at all, I'm just a little dazed because that dream, but when they come here I'll be perfectly fine."

"Are you sure? Remember what the doctor have told you, don't make efforts."

"Bones, really, don't worry, I'm fine, and they can come here when they want."

"You're really stubborn, do you know?"

"Look who's talking."

"Hey, I'm just remembering to you what the doctor has said. But If you feel ok with the visits I'm going to call them, ok?"

"Ok, thank you." He said with a smile of gratitude.

"Ok then. Just wait here." She replied with a happy irony, and dialing Rebecca's phone number.

The afternoon was really good, and Booth didn't show any sign of tiredness while everyone were with him. Parker had hugged him a lot when he saw the bandage in his head, and asked if it was hurting. The doctor came too when the Squint Squad was there, and he wasn't sure whether so many people in the room was a good idea, but he accepted it when Booth told him that he was really fine and he wasn't tired at all. Minutes later they had gone, arrived Jared, and while he was still there Cullen came in. He was very happy that Booth was recovering and the surgery went ok.

Throughout the four days he had to stay in the hospital Bones just go out of Booth's room to go home, take two or three hours of sleep in a bed, take a shower and change clothes, all that while Booth was sleeping. He had insisted that she should go home and rest properly, that it wasn't necessary that she was 24h with him. But she didn't take it into consideration, because she felt better when she was with him.

But these four days wasn't easy for Booth. The memory of the feelings in his dream was there, and he was overwhelmed every time he thought about it. He tried that technique of Bones, compartmentalize, but it was too difficult, and he just get it from time to time. Besides, Bones had asked him a few times about the dream he had while he has in the coma, but Booth didn't want to have to explain some details, especially to her, and though at first she was upset, she knew he'd tell her when he was up to it.

Anyway, the four days passed faster than he had thought thanks to Bones and all the visits he had. Even Sweets came, annoying Booth and Bones a little. But even that visit was a good time.

Finally, the fourth day, the doctor gave Booth permission to go home, undergoing the treatment properly outside the hospital. He said, as well, that it would be good to him not to be alone the first days, at least one week, just in case something happens.

"Don't worry Dr. Stark. I'll stay with him, he isn't going to be alone." Bones said. Booth hadn't time to reply.

"Ok, then he will be in good hands. I want to see you in your appointment, Agent Booth." And he left, letting him to go home whenever he wanted.

"Bones, it's not necessary, you have done more than enough. You haven't slept for four days, you need to rest properly, probably more than myself."

"And who do you want to stay with? Rebecca? I don't think she wants. Maybe your brother? I won't let that happen, you can be sure about it. Do you have another option?" He didn't answer. "No, the logical option is to stay with me. I also think that the best idea is to stay at your place, because you'll be more comfortable than at mine. So, we're going to stay at yours."

"Bones, seriously, I'm fine, I don't need a babysitter." He said a little annoyed. But in the next instant he staggered a little, but it was just a moment.

"You've heard what the doctor has said, this is not an option. I'm going to stay with you whether you want it or not." She said categorically.

"Oh, ok, as you want. But you know I don't need any help." He said totally resigned. "Bossy."

"I know" she replied prankly. "Ok, then, are you ready?"

"Yes, please, let's go out of here."

To be continued...

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Please, review, and you already know that every advice you want to share with me will be appreciated!!


	3. The Package

Hi everybody again,

This is the third chapter of my story. I hope you like it. Something is about to happen…

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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THE PACKAGE

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They arrived to Booth's in a few, and after make him sit comfortably on his couch, with everything he could need at hand, Bones went to her place to pick up some clothes and personal effects. She put everything she thought could be needed, and left and closed her door. Before she could leave the building the super called her.

"Dr. Brennan! Could you wait a second, please? I have a package delivered for you."

"Of course!"

"I have it right here." He was rummaging through the mail and packages, and then he found it. "Here you have." He told. It was a grey cardboard box, of about a 20 cm3. It haven't any sign, nor name, nor mark of any kind.

"Thank you." She told while turning the box looking for something that could tell her who has sent it. "When has it arrived? I can't find any sender." She asked, still looking at the package.

"This morning, a carrier took it, but since you weren't at home I told them to leave it here."

"It's ok, thank you. Oh, I'm going away for a week, could you please take any messages for me while I'm away?"

"Of course, Dr. Brennan. No problem!"

"Thank you again. Bye"

"Good bye, see you soon."

She left the building with the package and her luggage, and put all in her car. She sat in the driver's seat and opened the package. Inside she found a smaller box wrapped in red with a white ribbon. When she opened it she found a smaller one and a note.

"_You are the most brilliant person I've known"_

And when she opened the smallest box she found a light bulb, an old, dirty, and blown light bulb. She took it from its box and watch it carefully, but it was just a bulb, nothing else. She put it again in the box and drove to Booth's. In the way tried to think this strange package, and its meaning, but she had no idea and thought it would possibly be an eccentric fan of her.

She arrived to Booth's with her luggage and the strange package in her hand.

"Hi, I'm here!" She announced her arrival.

"Hey!" He said in return.

"Someone has delivered this package this morning. The super has picked it up for me. It's a little strange, take a look at it. I don't know what to think about it." She gave the box to him and he opened it, to find the second box with the rubber. He opened it too and found the note and the smallest box with the bulb. He read the note and looked at her.

"What the hell does this mean?"

"I have no idea. But it could be some fan with an odd sense of humor."

"It could be. But I'm taken aback, and I don't like to be taken aback."

"Booth, it's probably nothing, you don't have to worry for this. This is not the first odd package I've received."

"Well, I feel better now. What more have you received that I have no idea?" He said with irony.

"I receive a lot of mail every day, packages with gifts from fans, or from companies I've worked for some time, organizations… Do you really think I'm going to notify you every letter, package or note I receive?"

"No, of course not. But yes, I expect you to tell me the odd ones. What happens if there is some maniac sending you whatever maniacs could send to their victims?"

"Booth, please, you cannot be serious!" She was starting to raise her voice now. "I can take care of myself, and in fact, nothing has happened. And just for your information, what do you think I've first done when I saw the content of the package?" She was upset and she didn't want to hide it. "I HAVE TOLD YOU!" She was looking at his eyes. "I have told you as soon as I could, but now I'm regretting of doing it."

"Bones, don't shout at me, I'm just trying to help you, you know that." He said, trying to calm her down. His head was beginning to hurt. "It's ok, we can discuss it later."

"No, we have nothing to discuss. This is just what it is, an odd and insignificant light bulb."

"Ok, Bones, as you want, by now. I have a big head ache, and I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now, please!"

"Oh, I'm sorry for yelling at you." She was a really sorry. "I didn't mean to give you more pain." She sat beside him on the couch. "Do you want a pill for your head? It'll help you to sleep better."

"No, I think I can bear it without pills, thanks, at least by now. But I'm starving, the pudding is not enough for me." He said laughing. She laugh too, feeling more relaxed. "Maybe we can order something to eat."

"This is a great idea but, do you mind if I take a shower first and put some more comfortable clothes on? We can order something at Sid's."

"Ok, I'll order something while you take your shower."

"Perfect."

She went to the bathroom while Booth dialed Sid's number.

Ten minutes later she came to the leaving room in a white pajama and drying her hair with a towel. Booth was sat on the couch, when she appeared in his view. He couldn't help to stare at her and think about his dream, think about her the same way he thought about her in that dream. And then, her voice brought him to reality again.

"What are you looking at?"

"Sorry, I was thinking about… your package again." He lied.

"No, please, don't go over that again. I've told you, it's not important, really, it doesn't matter."

**_Knock, knock_**

"Ops, the food!" He told.

"I'll open de door, just set the table." She said while opened the door. She paid the food to the boy and put it on the table. The package was forgotten by the moment and they ate while watched the news on the tv, and after clear the table they sat on the couch and watched a night show until the two fell asleep.

In the meantime, outside the building, a pair of eyes were watching at the window of Booth's apartment, full of jealousy and envy, thinking about her disdain by running to tell Booth about his original present. But a few moments later, they had vanished.

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Review, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	4. New case

Hi everybody again,

This is the fourth chapter of my story. I hope you like it. Definitely, something will happen…

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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NEW CASE

Booth woke up in the middle of the night on his couch, the tv was still on, and he noticed that his head was resting on something that was as well resting on his left shoulder. And in that exact moment he was aware that _that_ was Bones. She fell asleep as well, her head on his shoulder and her left hand on his chest. Again, he had to fight against his dreamed feelings for her, even stronger than before, watching her peaceful face so close to his own. Surely she's going to have a bad stiff neck if she sleeps in that position, he thought. He was thinking that he should take her to her bed, well, in fact, he was really thinking to take her to his own bed, but he rejected that idea instantly. He was preparing to pick her up, but she woke up in that moment too.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Half past three in the morning." He answered. "We should go to bed, don't you think?" And he thought that that had not sounded very good. "I mean… you go to your bed, and I go to mine."

"I've understood you the first time, Booth." He was smiling with relief but she asked something that made him feel uneasy. "By the way, what were you doing?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, trying to sound the most indifferent he could.

"When I woke up, what were you doing? I was asleep, but you moved and woke me up."

"Well, I woke up a minute before you, and I was trying to decide the best way to wake you up too. The couch is not very comfortable for two, I was sure you'd be a lot better in your bed."

"Yes, you're right."They were still sitting on the couch, and she thought that it had felt good to be the way they were moments before. But this thought passed through her mind just a second and then she got up and walked sleepy toward her bedroom. "Good night, Booth." She said looking at him from the door.

"Good night, Bones." He went to his bedroom too, and watched her door closing. He remained a few seconds staring at the door, thinking about her, and beginning to understand that this situation was going to be a lot more difficult to bear than any other he had had in his life.

When everyone was sleeping her cell phone rang insistently, making her jump in her bed.

"Brennan." She answered the phone. It was Cam that told her that the FBI had called her and was in her way to a house where a body had been found.

"They have asked me to call you. I think we have a new case in hands."

"Ok, Cam, I'll be there in twenty minutes. See you there." She hung up the phone and saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. She was used to get up early but she was deeply asleep two minutes before. She dressed in record time and washed her face with cold water. She thought that maybe she should wake Booth up, but he was fully asleep, and it wasn't necessary to disturb him. He need to rest well after the surgery, she finally thought. She closed the door as quietly as she could.

She arrived at the address Cam had told her and found her talking to an agent outside the building, which was surrounded by yellow seal and a lot of police officers and FBI, and police cars with their lights on.

"Good morning, Brennan."

"What do we have?"

"Straight to the point." Cam said.

"Well, it's almost six in the morning and I was having pleasant dreams, so, what have happened here?"

"Me too, and look where I am. Well, this is what the FBI forensics told me: white female in her 30's murdered in the bedroom. They supposed she was raped too, because she is completely naked and she had several marks on the whole body as if she has been hold on tightly. She was also stabbed in her neck with something thin, like a pencil. They haven't found anything that could be the murder weapon, therefore all this are just suppositions. The murderer drained all the blood from her body by the hole in her neck, so she was probably alive when he stabbed her, but they don't know whether she was conscious or not."

"Drained? The murderer took all the blood from the victim? Why?"

"I have no idea. Charlie, the FBI agent I was talking to hasn't told me." They went inside the building walking toward the apartment where the crime was committed.

"So the murdered is recent?" Bones asked.

"Yes, just a few hours ago, I supposed, but I haven't seen anything. I've just arrived here five minutes before you. I just know what Charlie has told me."

"Well, and why exactly am I here? This seems to be your type of scenario, not mine. I can't do anything until you've finished the autopsy."

"I don't know. I've told you I've arrived here five minutes before you, and I haven't seen anything yet. They have told me to call you, and so I've done. Maybe Charlie could enlighten us." Cam said turning to the same agent she was talking to when Brennan arrived, who had came in the apartment a moment before them.

"Oh, good morning Dr. Brennan. I have to apologize for waking you up so early, but here is something you should take a look. Please, follow me." Cam gave her a pair of gloves while following the agent toward a bathroom next to the bedroom where the body was. In that exact moment Bones' cell phone rang. Booth was calling her.

"Brennan."

"Bones, where are you?"

"Hi Booth, I'm sorry, Cam called me and asked me to come to a crime scene and I've had to leave early."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked her impatiently.

"Because you were full asleep, and I didn't want to disturb you. You need to rest after the surgery. In fact, you should be sleeping right now. Why are you awake?"

"Bones, you must tell me that you were leaving. I was going to the kitchen and your door was opened but you weren't in. I was worried."

"Booth, I've told you, I didn't want to disturb your sleep. And you have nothing to worry about, I'm an adult, and as an adult I have work to…" In that very moment she was aware that Charlie had turned on the light of the bathroom and what she saw there paralyzed her completely. She didn't know how to react to what she was seeing. It seemed taken from a horror film. The walls and the floor of the bathroom were full of blood, but not as if the crime has been committed there. The blood was distributed forming letters composing a macabre message. On the right wall was her name written in blood _"Dr. Brennan,"_, on the front wall was written _"Do you want"_, on the left wall _"to play?"_, and on the floor was written _"LET'S PLAY"_ in capital letters. The whole bloody message was very clear:

"_Dr. Brennan, do you want to play? LET'S PLAY"_

She was so petrified that didn't notice the dozen of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling of the bathroom until Cam told her to look up. They were all turned off except the only one connected to the switch. A shiver of fear ran from her big toes to the top of her head.

"Oh, my God!" Cam was stunned.

"Bones, are you still there? What's going on?" Booth was still on the phone, but Brennan had lowered her arm and she wasn't listening to him.

"Brennan, are you ok?" Cam asked turning to her, but she could just look at the light bulbs with fear in her eyes. "Let's get out of here, the FBI will do the first work here." Cam said, grabbing Brennan's elbow to guide her outside the apartment. "Brennan?" Cam insisted, but she didn't say a word. Cam took the phone of her hand and talk to Booth, while guiding her outside the building, still without a word for her part. "Booth, we'll call you later."

"Cam, wait!!" But Cam hung up on him. He was calling again the next second, but she silenced the phone and paid attention to Brennan again.

"Brennan, listen to me." Cam said firmly to Bones. She was paying attention now. "We are going to the lab together with an escort, and then we are going to call Booth and tell him what has happened here. And this is not negotiable. If there's a madman going after you, you'll be safer at the lab."

"It's ok, Cam, I'm ok." Said Bones, talking lower.

"No, you're not ok. You can't be ok with that bloody message! Nobody could be ok with something like that!"

"Really, I'm fine!"

"Ok, as you want, but we are heading to the Jeffersonian right now." Cam said firmly. "Charlie!" Cam called the FBI agent to come where they both were. "Charlie, we need an escort for Dr. Brennan to go to the Jeffersonian right now. The officers and your people could do the first job here and send everything there once they have ended. I need you to make sure that every clue, photographs, and the body are sent to the Jeffersonian when your people finish the field work. Could you do that?"

"Yes, of course, no problem. We have seen your team work so many times, we know how you want the job be done, so don't worry about it."

"Ok, one more thing, we'll need high resolution photographs from the bathroom, so we can examine the traces properly." Cam demanded.

"We are already taking HQ pictures of the scene, they will be sent to you as soon as possible. Let me talk to Agent Sorensen to escort you two to the Jeffersonian." Charlie said, and went to talk to an agent that was interviewing a neighbor. Charlie would finish the questions to her, but he must go with Dr. Saroyan and Dr. Brennan right now.

"Come on, Brennan, let's go." Cam said, guiding her to the agent Sorensen SUV. But Brennan didn't want to leave her car there.

"I've come with my car, and I don't want to leave it here. I'll drive to the lab."

"Ok, my car is here as well. I'll drive too, right behind you." Cam said. Agent Sorensen spoke to the two women.

"I'll drive in front of you, Dr. Brennan, and we'll head the Jeffersonian together."

"I think all this is absolutely unnecessary. I'm perfectly capable of driving myself to the Jeffersonian without getting lost!" She was getting upset.

"Me too, but we are doing as Agent Sorensen says, so let's go, please." Cam said firmly again.

"Ok, let's go, me and my babysitters." And with that Bones headed to her car and drove to the lab behind Agent Sorensen's truck. She was thinking all the way about the bulbs, and the coincidence with the package she had received yesterday. She was very sure that this wasn't a coincidence. This was unquestionable with the message in the walls of the bathroom.

The delegation arrived to the Jeffersonian at 6:30 in the morning. Brennan headed to her office as soon as she had parked her car, without waiting for Cam and Agent Sorensen. She sat heavily in her chair and thought that she should call Booth, he would be worried. Cam had hung up on him, and he had been trying to contact with Bones again, but she wasn't answering. She hated to disturb him with this, but she also knew that Cam would call him in a minute. She called him from her office, just before Cam appeared in her door.

"Bones? I'm on my way to the Jeffersonian. Are you ok?" Booth sounded worried.

"What? Wait, are you coming here? Why the hell have you got off your bed? You should be resting, Booth!"

"Cam has called me 15 minutes ago, and has told me what has happened while she drove to the lab. Don't argue with me. This is really serious. I suppose you are NOT alone, aren't you?" He asked impatiently. But before she could reply Cam spoke to Booth.

"Hi Booth, it's Cam. No, she's not alone. I've asked Charlie to give her a temporal escort while we decide what to do. Agent Sorensen will be here with us all the time." Cam answered, and saw the anger on Brennan's face. "Don't look at me that way, Brennan. I've done exactly what I have to do. If I detect something that threats any member of the team I have to do everything I can to assure his/her protection. And that's exactly what I have done."

"I completely agree with her." Booth told her by the phone. A wave of rage invaded her and stood up from her chair. She exploded.

"Hey, you two, that's enough. I'm here, don't talk between you like I wasn't listening, or like I was a little child that need to be protected. I'm a grown woman and I can take good care of myself, thank you! I'm still free to decide whatever I want about my own safety by myself, and I don't care if you two or anyone else agrees with that!" And with that she hung up on him again. She was breathing fast, and her face was full of anger.

"Brennan…" Cam begun, but Brennan was begging to be left alone.

"Close the door when you leave." She told her, leaning both hands on her desk, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

"Ok, but you know that if you need…" She couldn't finish.

"Yes, I know." Cam nodded at the short statement and went out her office. Agent Sorensen was on her door and Cam told him not to leave this door on any account.

Bones sat on her couch trying to relax her neck. She was extremely pissed off. Besides, she couldn't stop thinking about the light bulbs. She didn't understand why the murderer wanted to leave a message like that to her. He was getting angry with herself for letting the situation scare her. But she couldn't help it. She was scared to death, like any human being would be if anything like that happened to him/her.

No more than five minutes since Cam has gone from her office had passed, when Booth burst into looking for her.

"Bones, are you ok?"

"Booth, what the hell are you doing here?" She said with resignation. "You should be in your bed."

"I couldn't stay at home with all this going on."

"But you couldn't do anything. You're recovering yourself, please, go home now."

"I'm not going any way, Bones, you like it or not." He said, sitting beside her on the couch. A few seconds passed in silence, but Booth could see that she had something in her mind. "Can you tell me what are you thinking? You're head is working so fast that I can almost hear it" He said softly. But Brennan wasn't in the mood for softness.

"And what do you suppose I have to tell you? That I'm scared that a maniac could come over me in the middle of the night and make me the same things that he has done to that poor woman? No, thanks, that's not going to happen, and do you want to know why? Because I can bear the fear, and I can face that son of a bitch if he comes here or wherever he wants, and I will fight him, her, or what the hell it could be! I'm very capable of kicking his ass and send him to fly!"

"Bones, calm down, I'm here just to help and protect you!"

"And why exactly do you think you have the right to decide over myself, whether I need any kind of protection or not? As I said to you earlier I'm an adult, I can take really good care of myself, I don't need a babysitter 24h! And by the way, how do you exactly plan to protect me? You are under treatment. You have been operated five days ago. Do you want me to remember you what the doctor has said to you before leave the hospital, YESTERDAY?, you are the one who needs someone taking care of you, not me."

"Don't yell at me! Do you think I like that you have gone out of your home to take care of me? Have I to remember you that you didn't let me decide anything about that? Don't tell me I have no right to decide over your safety because we are partners, and that is exactly what partners do, they take care of each other!" He said trying not to yell at her. He stood up too. "Bones, please, I understand you, I really do, because I know you, and I know you hate to need any kind of protection, but you are my partner, and I must do everything I can to protect you, exactly the same that you are doing for me. I need to be sure you're ok, and when something like this happens, you shouldn't bear it alone, because you're not alone." He had been approaching to her, but she was too annoyed to notice it, and turned and took a few steps going round the couch. She stopped behind it with her hands leaning on it, trying to relax a little. She thought that the only thing that could make her feel better was concentrate in the job and try to catch the murderer as soon as they can, before he could do something against her or against someone else.

"I have work to do, Booth. Please, go home and do what the doctor has said to you." She said walking to the door. But Booth was faster and caught her arm before she could leave.

"Stop! Now!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" She yelled at him again releasing her arm from his hand.

"Haven't you listened to all I've been saying to you? Bones, please, wait a second!" He said when he noticed she was trying to open the door to leave. He took a step forward and blocked the door to not allow her to go. He knew she was really upset, but he doesn't care right now. He had the feeling that there was something more that she wasn't saying, and he wanted to know what it was.

"Let me go, Booth! I'm not in the mood for this right now!" She said lower, but with a warning in her voice.

"What is really bothering you so much, Bones? There's something you are not telling me."

"Let me go now!" The warning in her voice was more intense this time, but Booth knew she wouldn't do anything to him. So, he insisted.

"Bones, please, I just want to know what the hell is bothering you sooo much. I've already told you, but I'll repeat it again: you are NOT alone." He noticed that shy was trying to relax a little and went on. "Please, let me help you. I'm here because I care for you. You know that. Please," he was looking her at her eyes "please, tell me what is really happening here. You don't have to face this alone, I will be here with you. We can face it together, as we always do." He waited a few seconds for her to react, but she didn't do anything. Then he tried to took her by her hand, and surprisingly, she let him do it, and he guided her to her couch again. He waited for her to calm down a little more.

"Booth, don't you realize, that what has happened to that woman is my fault?" She said with a mix of sadness and anger in her voice.

"Don't do that, Bones. Don't blame yourself for what has happened to her, because that's definitely not your fault. The bastard that made her that has the entire fault, not you. You hadn't any way to know this was going to happen. In fact, and this is going to sound selfishly, I'm sure you are ok because you were at my place this night. I think, and I'm pretty sure I'm not mistaken, that the first objective were you, and since he couldn't get you, he went to search for another victim." She closed her eyes when he said that. "Yes, I know, that's the very reason you are so angry, because you think that she has died because of you, and that's not true."

"How can that not be true? That's exactly what has happened!" The tears were trying to fall from her eyes, but she didn't let them.

"No, that's not true. The true is that that bastard had the idea of murder someone in mind, and ok, I admit that possibly you were his first option, but what could you do? You didn't know anything about. This man, if I can call him a man, has done something inhuman, and unless you have taken part in what he has done to that woman, you are not responsible of nothing here. Do you understand me?" He said, raising softly her chin, making her to look at him too. She didn't tell anything. "Bones, it's ok to feel what you are feeling now. You are not a robot without feelings, no matter how much you try to hide them in the bottom of your heart."

"Booth… " She said very low and turning her eyes to the couch again. "Could you…" It wasn't necessary to continue because he knew exactly what she was asking for.

"Come here." And he took her in his arms and held her. He felt her whole body shaking lightly and knew for sure that she was really scared. He held her tighter.

To be continued...

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Review!!!!!!


	5. Stubbornness

Hi everybody again,

Here is the fifth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

I've changed the rating to M because the story I have in mind could be a little harder than what I thought at first.

I've re-read the whole story again through the web, not directly in my Word files because it happens to me that I find different to read my own files than read the story in the web, and besides. I've found some grammatical errors, despite I've checked every chapter twice before upload them, so I have to apologize for it. Please, remember that this is my very first fic I write in my life, and my first language is not English but Spanish, so I beg all of you readers, please, forgive these grammatical errors that you could find. A thousand pardons for this.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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STUBBORNNESS

Brennan had calmed down a lot in Booth's arms, she felt comforted with him and that was exactly what she needed in that moment. But she knew that Booth couldn't work on that case because he was recovering from the surgery and Cullen wouldn't let him take part on this. They separated slowly and she spoke again.

"How are we going to face this? I mean, obviously you can't participate in this case. You must be resting at home right now. You can't make any kind of effort, and this leads me to take into consideration that I'll have to work with another agent in this case, and I don't like it. And all that argument has been useless"

"Well, I don't think it has been useless if you feel better now than five minutes ago."

"I'm a little more relaxed, yes. But that's not the point."

"I'll call Cullen right now and tell him what's going on. You're wrong if you think that I'm not going to take part on this case, because even if I can't do the field work, I'm going to be here to help all of you to solve it."

"No, you must follow exactly what the doctor said to you, so you are going to go home and rest." She replied stubbornly.

"That, definitely, is not going to happen. If I feel tired I can rest in your couch a little. And don't think for a moment that you are going to go out in the field, because you are going to stay here all the time too. And when you want to go home, we, together, will go to my place. In short, you are not, on any account, going to be alone, neither in here nor out here."

"And there we go again! Don't you understand that I need to work on this case as I always do? I need to cover all the fronts of the case to be sure that everything is being done properly. I don't want to miss any evidence that could lead us to solve it. And I can't let every murderer to stop my work just because it could be a threat. I couldn't do my job if I allow that to happen, and you know it."

"Bones, and don't you understand that that son of a bitch is somewhere out there, and maybe waiting for you to distract just a second to…?" he couldn't finish that thought out loud. "I'm sorry, but I'm not letting that happen, and if that means that you have to be inside the lab since he's caught, then this is how it's going to be. You are more useful alive, don't you think?" He said, without hiding the fear to lose her in his voice.

"I don't want to be shut up in the lab, and missing important evidences that could help us to catch the murderer, Booth!" She stood up from the couch. "In fact, I should be in the crime scene instead of here."

"No, you shouldn't because there's nothing you can do there since the body is still fresh. It's Cam's responsibility, and if she wants to be here and let the FBI forensics do the preliminaries then it's her decision. Anyway, the Jeffersonian can send your assistant to the crime scene instead of you. It's not necessary for you to go there, and in fact, the FBI should assign the case to me to allow specifically you to go in the field on any investigation, and I'm pretty sure Cullen won't do that while I'm recovering."

"I know that, but I don't want my assistant to go alone. Maybe if it could be Zach, but not any of the rotary ones. And, why I'm not going to go out with the agent that Cullen assigns to this case? I've worked with other agents sometimes. Why it has to be different this time?"

"Have I to repeat it to you again? Because the murderer is somewhere out there lying in wait for you! It's not safe for you to go outside without any kind of protection! You could be the target of that bastard, don't you understand that?" He was beginning to desperate.

"I do understand that perfectly, but I need to do my job, I need to do what the investigation requires. And right now it requires me in the crime scene, although the body wasn't decomposing, recollecting evidences, instead of being here arguing with you!"

"The FBI forensics can do that for you, don't worry. They'll send everything here and you'll be able to work on them as soon as they arrive. They are also sending the body here for the autopsy, so you'll be able to work on it too when Cam finishes with it."

"So, this is how it's going to be right now? Have I to be locked here until we catch the murderer?" She said dryly.

"It's for your own good, Bones." He said dialing Cullen's number on his phone."I'm going to call Cullen to inform him about the case. He'll tell me how is the FBI going to work on this case and what agent is going to be in charge of the investigation. Ok?"

"Do you know what, Booth?" She said while catching the package with the light bulb that Booth had brought to be analyzed. But her voice made Booth feel uneasy. "I'm tired of arguing with you about all this. Maybe I should talk to Cam and tell her that the Jeffersonian is not going to take any part on this investigation, and maybe no more in the future. Maybe this way I could be safe enough for you, don't you think?" She said sarcastically and left her office. Booth's face turned white while he answered to Cullen, who had listened the last sentence she shouted. But he didn't follow her at that very moment because he needed to know what the FBI was going to do with this case. And while he wasn't going to be able to do any kind of field work, he wanted to be in the lab to be sure that Bones was safe. He'd deal with her right after, but knew it wouldn't be easy.

Brennan headed to Cam's office fuming. She was really decided to begin the work on this case, because this was the best way to occupy her time, instead of arguing with Booth, she thought.

"Cam, have we received anything from the crime scene? The body, pictures?"

"Yes, the FBI is sending the pictures in this moment. I've called the team to come to the lab right now, and Angela has to be just arriving to work on them. And I'm waiting the body in an hour or so. Where's Booth?" Cam asked, but Brennan didn't answer to that.

"Could you give this package to Hodgins when he arrives and tell him to examine as soon as he can, please?"

"What's that?"

"Someone sent me this package yesterday morning to my place. It contains another box with a note and a light bulb. I'm sure it's linked with this murder, but I need to be sure."

"And why didn't you tell me anything about this before? Brennan, this is really… " Cam began to say, but she couldn't finish when she watched the inside of the box. "Oh, my God, Brennan. Are you telling me that the murderer sent this package to you yesterday morning and then he raped and killed that woman? Now I understand why you were as in shock at the crime scene and why Booth is so extremely nervous too." Cam said, and noticed that Brennan was making efforts to hide the fear from her face.

"I don't like to jump to conclusions, Cam. Booth has brought it this morning to examine it and search for fingerprints or anything that could help us." She wasn't in the mood to speak again about it with Cam, so she changed the subject. "I'll be in Angela's office. While I can't work on the victim I'll start with the pictures of the scene. Maybe we can take something from them."

"Well, you don't have to wait for her. Look, she is on the platform heading to her office."

"Ok, send the pictures to her now, please."

"No problem." Cam said to no one, because Brennan had already left her office and was walking toward Angela's.

"Angela!" Brennan called her.

"Sweetie! Are you ok?" Angela said, really concerned.

"Yes, I'm ok. We have work to do. Cam has sent you the pictures that the FBI has taken from the crime scene." Brennan said while entering Angela's office.

"Hey, Bren, are you sure you're ok? Cam hasn't told me everything about this, but she has told me about that hair-raising bathroom." She made a face. "I know he is recovering, but have you talked to Booth about that?" And this question made her upset again.

"Why everyone thinks I have to run to Booth when something strange happens to me? I'm getting tired of telling everyone that I can take care of myself!" Brennan replied a little more dryly than she wanted.

"Ok, ok, I was just asking. You know that man cares about you and I'm sure he'd feel the need to help you the way he can. But you don't have to be angry with me. I don't know what has happened but we can talk about it later, or when you want, you know." Angela said, trying to calm her down.

"I know that, Ang. I'm not angry with you. But, can we start to work on the pictures of the scene, please? I really need to focus on the job right now."

"Yes, of course. Let me download them and we can start." But in that moment Booth came into the office.

"Hello Angela." He said.

"Hi Booth!" She said surprised that he was in the lab. "What are you doing here? I thought you were recovering at home. How are you?"

"I'm ok, don't worry about me. I'm feeling very well." But she knew something was happening because she could have cut the tension with a knife, besides the odd expression she saw in Brennan's face before she turned to the big screen, where the first image appeared. "What's going on here? Are you two guys ok?"

"Angela, do you mind to give us a few minutes, please?" Booth asked kindly to her.

"Of course. I'll be with Cam if any one of you needs something from me, ok?"

"Thank you, Angela."

"No, Booth, you're welcome." And then she turned to Brennan before to leave. "Sweetie, please, listen to everything Booth tells you, and remember that he just wants you to be ok." Angela waited a few seconds for Brennan to tell something, but she didn't say anything. She left her office looking at Booth and understood the situation, although she didn't know the details yet. The expression on Angela's face was very clear to Booth to read: be patient with her. Brennan didn't raise her face from the screen, but she wasn't really paying attention at the image.

"Bones..." Booth called her, "Temperance…" but even listening to him calling her this way, she didn't answer him. "Come on! Be reasonable, for God sake! Do you think I'm doing this just to bother you?" He said desperately. But she remained in silence. He took a deep breath and continued. "I've talked to Cullen and he's going to assign Agent Perotta to this case, you remember her."

"Yes, I remember." She finally said.

"She is going to be in charge of this case. Cullen thinks that she is the best option to assign to it, because she has worked with you before and it went well." He told her. She didn't raise her head from the monitor yet. "He knows about the box you've received yesterday and he agrees with me that this is not a coincidence, and that bastard is probably going to try to go after you. And since you are not an agent you need protection." He saw her knuckles turning white. "He has agreed too for you to go out, when it's absolutely necessary, with agent Perotta." And now she raised her head and looked at Booth surprised. "But," he waited one second, "you two are going to go out with another agent. This is going to be the only way for you, although I don't like the idea, to go out of here without me, do you understand?" She didn't say anything. "I'm serious Bones, you're safety is more important to me than you being upset with me because of this. I prefer you being angry with me but alive and ok than you happy but beaten, or dead." He said. And he noticed that she was trying to calm down a little.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I know you are just trying to help me, but..." Booth interrupted her.

"Are you saying _sorry_? Do you feel good?" He asked trying to release the tension, but she didn't understand it.

"I'm feeling very well, but if you prefer I can keep my _sorries_ for myself!" She replied.

"Hey, I'm just kidding, ok? Can you finish what you were about to say, please?"

"I was telling, before you interrupted me, that I'm sorry for yelling at you, and I understand that you are just trying to help me. But to catch this murderer is the most important to me, because if I can't do it I'm sure he is going to kill again. I'm not letting him to catch me, and it's a very plausible possibility that he tries to catch another woman instead of me, and I can't let that happen again, Booth!" She said with a mix of despair and determination.

"I know that, but please, just try to see the whole situation from my point of view. Let's start from the beginning. Yesterday you receive a package with a light bulb and a note that says that _you are the most brilliant person I've ever known_. This is already extremely odd. And supposedly the same guy that sent that to you rapes and kills a woman during the night, drains her blood and decorates a bathroom writing a very threatening message to you with it. Am I missing something? Oh, yes, the little detail of the few light bulbs hanging from the ceiling of that same bathroom, just in case the bloody message wasn't clear enough for you. How do you think I have to react at that? Just try to think about it from my perspective. Try to imagine that all this wasn't happening to you, but for example, Angela. Would you let her go out of here if you weren't sure she was going to be safe?"

"No, of course not. But…"

"No, no _buts_. Please," he changed to a plea voice "I need to know that you'll be ok. I hate to not be able to work full by your side, because I won't be able to be with you if something happens." He said discouragingly. He took a step toward her.

"I understand you, but I hate when you bring up your alpha male pride and go ordering me what to do. I'm an adult Booth, I can take decisions on my own and I can defend myself if I need to." She replied, but a lot calmer now.

"I know that, Bones. I don't mean that you couldn't defend yourself very well, I already know that. But I need to know, for myself, that you are ok, that nothing is going to happen to you. Call me selfish if you want, but I can't help it."

"You probably couldn't do anything, anyway, because you're not in the best shape right now."

"That's exactly the reason why I'm so worried, Bones, just because of that." He finally explained, taking another step toward her.

"Ok, I give up. I'll work with Agent Perotta, but I still don't like the idea to go with another agent if we have to go out." She said with resignation.

"Well, it's not going to be exactly that way. The fact is that you are not going to be the official partner of Agent Perotta, because Cullen has assigned two agents for this case. The other agent, I don't know who is he yet, is going to be the real partner of her, although Agent Perotta will be in charge. Cullen is going to allow the Jeffersonian work with the FBI on this case, just as a favor to me and you, and that will allow you to go with them when it's necessary." She was about to reply something to that but he didn't let her. "Don't argue with me again, please. This is more than what I was willing to accept. You have no idea how hard it's going to be for me not be able to stay with you. But Cullen knows, despite you could be the target of the murderer, that this is the best team to solve this case. He was not too much convinced to let you work on this case because it could be dangerous for the agents and the team. But, he knows too that you are not going to stand doing nothing while your team is working. It seems that he's starting to know you a little."

"Well, it seems I have no option. When are Agent Perotta and his partner going to come here?" She asked.

"So, this means that you agree?" Booth asked skeptically.

"As I said I have no option, so I'm going to start with the work and I want to know when they are going to come here, so they could tell me how they are going to work on it."

"I don't know. Cullen has sent them to the crime scene. I guess they'll come here as soon as they finish there."

"Ok, we'll wait then. Why don't you go to my office and rest a little? I'm going to start on the pictures with Angela, while the body arrives and Cam starts with it. I'm expecting Hodgins to arrive in any minute to start to work on the package and the victim's clothes to search for particulates, as well as the samples the FBI sends to us. Maybe the murderer has left some evidence that he could find." She said.

"Yes, and I hope he finds something quickly. But I'm not tired at all, and I want to watch those pictures too. I want to see what Cam has explained to me."

"I don't want you to make efforts, Booth." She replied, but she knew Booth would stay, no matter what. "You are just going to ignore all my advices, aren't you?"

"I'm ok, really, I'm not tired at all. But I promise you I'll go to rest when I feel I need to, ok?

"No, it's not ok. I'm just going to allow you watch the pictures with us, but after that you will go to my office to rest. And don't try to convince me, because I'm not going to change my mind." She said firmly. "I'm going to call Angela." And she headed to Cam's office to find that the body has arrived before she thought and Cam was preparing herself to start with the autopsy while she explained everything she knew to Angela. Brennan waited a few seconds for Cam to finish and then called Angela to come to her office to start with the pictures.

"Why didn't you tell me about that package? Do you really think this guy wants…?" She didn't finish.

"I don't know, Ang. Let Hodgins examine it and then we can conclude something." Brennan answered.

"But…" Angela tried to reply.

"Ang, please. We cannot be one hundred per cent sure that the package is linked to the murder, so, let's wait for the tests, ok?"

"Ok, we'll wait." She said. "Is everything fine with Booth?"

"Yes, it's just that… I'll have to work with Agent Perotta and her partner in this case instead of him, and he didn't want me to go out of here without him, because he's sure that the murderer will come after me. But I can fight him and he doesn't seem to remember that. I know he wants just to protect me, but I don't think I need to go out of here with two agents because he can't come with me."

"Bren, you know what I think about how much Booth cares about you. He just wants you to be ok, that's all. Why do you think he's doing something wrong wanting that?"

"I don't think he's doing anything wrong. It's just that I don't like to be shut here without be able to do my job properly. That's all."

"You are too stubborn. I think he's right in this case. He knows you better than anyone, even me, and if I'm thinking that you could do something reckless to catch that bastard he has to be thinking exactly the same." She said with concern. "Bren, you didn't see him when the Gravedigger took both Hodgins and you. He was absolutely frantic. I've never seen him like that day. I don't want to know how hard it would be for him if something happens to you. Really, I wouldn't like to be in front of him if something bad happens to you. And I'm sure he'd hate himself for not being able to protect you for the rest of his life."

"Don't start with that again, Ang." Brennan said, but what she had said somehow made her know that Angela was right.

"It's true, even if you don't want to listen to it." Angela said, but knowing Brennan wasn't ready to talk about that she changed the subject. "But let's start with the work, ok?"

"Yes, please, I need it."

They came in Angela's office and Booth was waiting for them to start. He had been looking at the picture Brennan was looking to before he came in Angela's office, and was stunned. It was a general view from the whole bathroom. He hid the anger that was raising in him, and they started to watch all the images. They were trying to determine how the murderer has written that, and they concluded that it has been written with a medium size paintbrush. They'd wait for Hodgins to analyze the samples that the FBI was sending to the lab. Maybe the murderer has left there some more evidences from himself, but that was a remote possibility, because the FBI had recovered neither the paintbrush nor the container where he had drained the blood.

"We are going to take nothing from this. Maybe we can talk to Sweets, and ask him to make a psychological profile of the murderer. The pictures could help him to do it properly." Brennan said after a good while.

"You're right. I'll call him." Booth answered going out of the room with the phone in his hand.

"Let me work on the pictures some more. Maybe I'll be able to find something that has passed us, although I doubt it. But I'll try." Angela said to Brennan.

"Ok, Ang. Let me know if you find something else."

"Bren, don't get angry with me, but I have to tell you something. Please, please, please, do everything Booth tells you, please, Sweetie. He wants just you to be ok. Remember it before doing something you could regret, ok? I'm afraid that psycho could try to do something to you, and if so, I'd like to be with Booth, and not all alone. Please, promise this to me."

"Angela…" Brennan was about to reply, but Angela didn't let her.

"No, promise me right now! Or I swear to you I'll call Cullen myself and tell him to not allow you to go out of the lab with anyone! Just promise me, please!" Angela said, practically begging her to.

"Are you blackmailing me, Angela?" Brennan said.

"Yes, plain and clear. Just do it, please!"

"Ok, as you want!" Brennan gave up.

"No, say it. I want to hear you say it."

"Ok, I promise you I'll follow every reasonable instruction from Booth."

"Every reasonable instruction? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Oh, God… Ok, I promise you I'll follow each and every instruction from Booth." Brennan said resigned.

"While we catch the murderer." Angela tagged.

"Yes, while we catch the murderer." Brennan said at last. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take Booth to my office where he can rest for a while. Call me if you find anything in the pictures, ok?"

"Ok, don't worry. Go and take care of him for a while. I'm sure he must be tired of arguing with you, and needs some cuddles."

"Angela!" Brennan said

"What?" She said laughing while Brennan left her office.

Booth had just finished talking with Sweets when she came out of Angela's office.

"Sweets will come with the profile today afternoon, and he wants to talk with us." He said.

"About what?"

"The usual thing, of course. I'm sure that ass likes to hear himself bray more than any other thing." He said funny.

"I don't know what that means." She answered.

"It means that I'm sure that he likes the sound of his own voice more than anything, Bones." He explained. "I was just kidding, forget it."

"Let's go to my office. You'll be more comfortable there. Anyway we have to wait until Cam finishes the autopsy and Hodgins gets some results from the tests on the package, the clothes and the samples from the crime scene."

"Yes, ma'am!" Booth said joking. Then they headed to her office and Booth sat heavily on her couch. She thought he seemed tired.

"Why don't you lie down on the couch for a while? I promise I'll wake you up as soon as we have anything."

"No, I'm ok, but I'd need a coffee. I'll bring another one for you." Booth offered standing up.

"No, I'll bring the coffees. Just sit on the couch, please!" She said and left without waiting for him to reply. When she was coming back from the coffee machine she found that Hodgins had just arrived and was talking with Cam in the autopsies room. She was explaining to him what had happened and what she needed him to do. Clark Edison was there too, paying attention at her and ready to help in everything they needed. But Brennan didn't stop there and went back to her office with the coffees.

Booth was sat on her chair. Angela had sent the pictures to Brennan's computer and he was looking at them again, just trying to imagine why the murderer has chosen Bones, his Bones, he thought. Brennan gave him the coffee and sat on another chair next to him. They remained in silence while they watch at the images. Booth noticed that the more images they watched the more uneasy she was. And he wasn't mistaken: she was indeed becoming more nervous with every picture. He put his hand on hers to calm her, to make her feel that he was going to be here for her.

"We will catch him, ok? We will do it, I promise you." He said.

"I know that." She said in low voice.

He promised to himself that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if it costs him his own life. He had already done it before, and he would do it again undoubtedly.

.

To be continued...

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I love your reviews!!!!!!!!


	6. First Results

Hi everybody again,

Here is the sixth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

I want to thank every review, alert, favorite, and more, that all of you are giving to me. Thank you, sincerely.

The story is getting interesting...

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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FIRST RESULTS

Booth and Brennan were watching the photographs for a while, but they didn't find anything useful. After that Booth called the Head Office and asked if someone could interview the carrier about the shipment of the package with the light bulb. An agent had called an hour later and told him that the package was picked in an address with no building. The carrier explained to the agent that there was only a kid of about 15 years old with dark hair, short height, about one meter and a half, that gave him the package and paid, but nothing else. He has evidently been paid by someone, because the name the kid had given to the carrier was false. The agent said also that this information was sent to Agent Perotta for her knowledge, but they hadn't heard anything from her yet. Then Brennan made Booth lie on the couch for a few hours, not without protest a little, while she was wandering through the lab, from her office to Angela's, to the platform on Hodgins and Clark were working, and to the autopsy room where Cam was performing the autopsy. The first news she got came from her.

"I've finished the autopsy. I've determined the victim died between 4 and 4:30 in the morning by great loss of blood. She bled to death from the wound in her neck. The object the murderer used to make the wound was 1cm of diameter and 7cm long. It sectioned the right carotid and the intern and extern jugular. The tests confirm that the blood of the bathroom is hers. I've confirmed too that the victim was raped several times, but there's no semen. I've found traces of lubricant, so I suppose that the murderer used a condom. But, I've found some pubic hairs that don't belong to the victim and I suppose they are from the murderer. I'm going to run DNA tests right now, and search for a match in the databases. Finally, the toxicology shows high levels of ketamine and diazepam too." Cam explained.

"That suggests the murderer injected her these anesthetics to keep her calm." Brennan said.

"Yes, the levels I've found were enough to make her stay still and a little groggy, but I'm pretty sure that she was conscious all the time, until the end." This made both shiver.

"Ok, thanks Cam." And she left the autopsy room. She was waiting for Hodgins first results when Angela told her that she had enlarged the images and searched for something more, but she couldn't find anything useful. After that Hodgins called her and gave her the results of the analysis of the light bulb. He had found just hers and Booth's fingerprints, but there was nothing more. It was a very common light bulb, of a very common brand, impossible to track. Brennan left him starting with the clothes and headed to her office again, where she found Booth peacefully asleep in her couch. She sat in the armchair next to him and stared at him in his sleep a few minutes. She admitted to herself that she was very lucky because he was always by her side, and in the hard times more than ever. She knew that he would do anything to protect her, and though she was determined not to show it to anyone, she really felt a lot better when he was with her. He was always there when she needed comfort, even when she didn't know it. Angela's words about the Gravedigger resounded in her head. She couldn't know exactly how he felt when she was inside the car, because she was indeed inside the car and not with him, but she remembered too well how she felt when he was abducted. The rage, the helplessness, the desperation, all mixed. She felt sick just to think about. She couldn't even think what she would do without him, and that thought scared the hell out of her.

She was so lost in her thoughts that didn't notice that Booth was waken and looking at her. He lost himself in his dreamed feelings for her, which were becoming more real and stronger every moment. He needed to know that she was going to be ok, because he was sure that he couldn't bear that something happened to her. If that bastard dared to touch her he sure would pay with his life. He saw in her eyes that she was trying to hide the fear she was feeling, but he knew her better than anyone.

None of them noticed that Sweets was on her office, watching at them with a file in her hand and a big grin in his face. He cleared his throat to make them return to Earth, and they both jumped in surprise.

"Sweets! When…?" Booth babbled sitting up on the couch.

"Two minutes ago." He said grinning even more.

"What are you laughing at, kid?" Booth asked ironically. Brennan stood up from the armchair and was looking at Sweets with a tired look in her face. She didn't say him anything.

"Nothing, nothing." He answered funny. "I have made the preliminary profile of the murderer." He handed the file to Booth. Brennan sat on the couch with Booth and let Sweets sat on the armchair, without saying a word. In that moment too, Agent Perotta arrived to her office with Cam and another agent. Brennan sighed with resignation but she welcomed and invited them to sit down.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, Dr. Saroyan, Dr. Sweets, this is my partner, Agent John Harmon." They shook hands, asked how Booth was after the surgery, and began to discuss the case. Agent Perotta was the first.

"Well, our victim is Dr. Karen Lindberg, 34, head of the surgery department on the George Washington Hospital. She was found by Steve Moore, a partner of her, who had gone to pick her at 6 in the morning, like almost very day. He is a surgeon too. We have interviewed the neighbors for possible witnesses, but nobody has seen nor heard anything." She started, and then looking to Brennan she continued. "We know about the package you've received, Dr. Brennan, and we think that it's linked with the case too. So you are officially under the FBI protection." She was about to reply but Booth was fast and put his hand on hers before she could say anything, looking directly in her eyes, begging her with no words not to argue again. She bowed her head with resignation and said nothing. Perotta continued. "Deputy Director Cullen has told me that you want to go with us in the field, but he has told us too, that you will go with us only if it's absolutely necessary. That will be if we have another body, we hope not, or something that we consider your skills are needed. You have to know that this is a direct order from Cullen, first for your own security and second for ours. I'm sure you understand the situation, Dr. Brennan." She said. Brennan felt the rage boil inside her, and Booth in his own hand, because he hadn't released hers. He squeezed her hand and looked at her again. She remained silent and Perotta continued. "We have talked to the victim's partner, Steve Moore, about her and he has told us that she was a very good boss in the hospital, and she was very respected in her work. They became friends four years ago and neither him nor other hospital staff could tell us something bad about her. Nobody thinks that she could have any enemy, neither do us. We think that she was chosen because she was similar than you in her life." Perotta said, and Sweets agreed.

"I agree with her. You could take a look at the preliminary profile, but I'm going to summarize it. If we suppose that the same person that sent the light bulb and that note to Dr. Brennan is the same that raped and killed Karen Lindberg, and then wrote a message in the walls and floor of her bathroom with her own blood directed to her" he looked at Brennan to indicate that it was indeed directed to her "then I think that we could be facing a potential serial killer. I'm sure that his first objective was Dr. Brennan, but as he couldn't get her because she was with Agent Booth, he got jealous and angry and thought about another woman who has similarities with her. That makes me think that he knew the victim, he had to know something about her before kill her, because Dr. Brennan received the package yesterday morning and he killed Karen today morning. So, he has to get some connection with the victim's life. What I mean is that I'm sure that the killer knew the victim from at least some time ago. In fact the lock wasn't forced. All this leads me to think that it's very probable that the killer knows Dr. Brennan too." He explained but Brennan interrupted him.

"We cannot be one hundred per cent sure that the package is linked with the murder, I can't assume that for sure just because it seems the easiest explanation for all of you." She sounded as irritated as she was.

"Bones, please, let Sweets finish. For the first time and without setting a precedent, I think he's right." He said, trying to keep her calm. But she released her hand from his and sighed with annoyance. He looked at her with concern while Sweets spoke again.

"You're right Dr. Brennan. I'm not one hundred per cent sure, but not only is the easiest explanation, but the more plausible too. And the more dangerous, so I think that the best we can do is to take it as sure, because if you are the objective and we don't take that situation into consideration, you could get killed, and none of us wants that to happen." At that words Booth held her hand again, trying to show her that he wouldnt' let that happened. She let him do it, and felt immediately a little better. "As I was saying, I think that the killer knows Dr. Brennan, but I don't think that he knows her of his everyday, but just by sight or a superficial relation. I think too that he feels admiration for her, even he could think that he's in love with her. And that could make him more dangerous, because he could do something unpredictable."

"I don't see the similarities between the victim and myself. Could someone explain them to me, please?" Brennan asked trying to dominate the annoyance. Booth answered.

"She had a similar age, was a beautiful woman, and the most important, she was a very successful woman, just like you. If I've understood it properly, I think that Sweets is right, and he's going to try to go after you because he wants to possess you. Am I right, Sweets?"

"Yes, you're absolutely right. As the investigation progresses and I have more details, I could do a more estimated profile, but I think we are looking for a man, middle-aged, intelligent and with higher education. I insist that he has to have some link with Dr. Brennan, but I cannot establish it yet. Maybe it could be someone that works on the university, but that is jump to conclusions."

Booth nodded in agreement and looked again at Brennan. She was angry and didn't even bother to hide it. She released her hand again and stood up from her couch.

"Cam, do you mind to explain Agent Perotta and Agent Harmon the details of the autopsy and the tests we have done here, please?"

"Yes, of course." Cam answered looking at her with understanding.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She said and left her office. She needed to be alone and headed to the higher part of the lab, where there was a meeting table. She sat in a chair, put her elbows heavily on the table and hid her head between her arms. She needed some time to be alone, she was suffocating in her office and needed some relief. Booth wanted to go after her, because he was worried for her, but he also needed to know the results, because he was sleeping and had no chance to take a look at them before they all arrived. For his relief Cam was brief explaining everything.

"We are now expecting for Hodgins to analyze the clothes of the victim and the samples the FBI has sent to us, and the DNA results of the pubic hair." She ended.

Booth excused himself and left the office too. He searched for her for a few minutes until he found her in the meeting table, leant on the table with her head resting on her arms. He came and sat on another chair next to her. Her eyes were fixed somewhere in the infinite. The fact that she had to be suffering this situation made him feel the urgent need to show her how much he cared. The dreamed feelings for her were even stronger than before. The need to take care of her, to protect her was so strong that it almost made him feel physical pain.

"Bones…" He said in low voice. But she didn't say a thing. He thought that today she didn't want to talk too much. "Bones, we should go home. I'm hungry and I bet that you haven't eaten anything in all day."

"No, I have to wait for Hodgins results, but I can take you home if you want." She finally said.

"No, no, no, no. I've said WE should go home, you and me, together. If there was something that you needed to know they can call you at your phone. You need to eat something, Bones. And to rest for a while, I guess." He said.

"Booth, I have to be here, just in case someone could need me. Maybe Clark needs my help."

"Clark can do a great job by himself, I'm sure. Bones, we have the ID, the profile, and the first interviews, and all the fronts are covered by everyone here: Hodgins and Clark with the clothes and the samples, Cam managing everyone, Sweets and his profiles, and Perotta and her partner compiling everything. Please," he stared at her "trust me, you'll feel a lot better after eat something and rest for a while. And" he grinned "we skive from Sweets."

"Booth..." She wanted to reply, but his look was a big please, and she finally gave up. "Ok, we go home for a while, but I'm going to come back in a few hours." She said.

"That's enough for me now. Come on, let's go." He said standing up. He put his hand on the small of her back and they went to notify Cam that they were leaving, and ask her to call them if anything new happens. They arrived at Booth's place after pick something at Sid's. Brennan wasn't really hungry, but Booth made her eat something without listening to her protests.

He was beginning to feel a light headache and rubbed his eyes trying to throw it away. He sat on his couch and closed his eyes. She noticed it and gave Booth his pills.

"You need to sleep for a while Booth, you need to do what the doctor said to you, not just ignore it. It's important for your recovery." She said.

"I know, but you need to rest too. You've been under a lot more stress than me, and I'm sure that if I fall asleep before you, you'll rest nothing, or even worse, you'll run to the lab again without me. And that it's not going to happen in any case."

"Don't worry, Booth, I'm not going to leave without you knowing it, because it will cause you to increase the headache because of the stress. And I don't want that to happen. So, why don't you try to sleep in the couch a little, while I connect with the Jeffesonian via satellite?"

"No, I prefer we sit on the couch and watch the tv. I'm sure that it will be very good for you to disconnect for a while. Let them do their job, just relax. We can view whatever you want, ok?" Booth suggested, and surprisingly, she accepted.

"Ok, we watch tv then. But in one or two hours I'll head to the lab again." She replied.

"Ok, but better, WE will head to the office."

"No, I will go to the lab without you, because you need to rest more than a few hours. Booth, if you don't follow exactly the doctor's instructions it could be perilous for your recovery. You have to think that you are recovering your mind skills, and that needs time and relax. And you are not very relaxed at the lab."

"I just need to relax a little and wait for the pills to take effect. Then I'll be perfectly fine to go with you if you want to go."

"For God's sake, Booth, just do what you must do!! That is to stay in a place where you can relax. The lab is not a good place for you right now. You ask me to trust you to come here and relax, but you need to trust me in this too, because your brain must disconnect to heal properly!!" She said firmly.

"Why don't we wait until you want to go? We'll decide then. Just sit down on the couch with me for a while. I don't want you to connect to the lab with your laptop because you need to relax too, ok?" He said standing up and hanging her hand to make her sit close to him. Then he put the tv on and after a few minutes Booth was half asleep with Brennan's head on her shoulder, half asleep too. They were exhausted, Brennan because of the situation and Booth because of the recovery. An hour and a half passed and Booth woke up for a moment. Unfortunately the headache was still there. And then he was aware that he had put his arm around her waist in their sleep and she was leant onto his right side, with her right arm on his chest. Booth felt his heart increase its speed. She looked beautiful while she slept. He wanted this to last forever and just remained in that same position and fell asleep again, feeling her rhythmic heartbeats.

When she awoke she was aware that she was leaning completely on Booth right side and his arm was rounding her waist. She felt like nothing could happen to her in his arms, she felt totally safe. And paradoxically that feeling scared her absolutely. The mix of feelings was strange to her, who always put her head before her heart. Booth awoke in that moment, sensing her agitation. He released her and she stoop up in a second.

"I-I-I ha-ave to go, to the lab." She babbled.

"I'll go with you. Can you wait a second, please? I want to wash my face." He said standing up to go to the bathroom, but in that moment he felt sick and needed to sit on the couch again. Brennan ran to help him and made him lie down.

"Booth! Are you ok?" She said really concerned.

"Yes, don't worry. It's just a sickness. It'll pass in a moment." He replied trying to calm her down.

"I've told you that you need to rest, and that's exactly what you are going to do right now." She said firmly. "I'll bring you some water." She stood up and headed to the kitchen, and came back with a big glass of fresh water. "Here, take it." She handed the glass to Booth and he took just a few sips, and then gave the glass to her again. "If this is your way to make me stay here with you instead of go to the lab, then you've done a good job." She said, trying to stay calm.

"You know, I always like to have a beautiful woman taking care of me."

"Don't be childish, Booth! This is serious!" She replied. "You are going to follow every instruction from the doctor, and from me. And I don't want to listen to your excuses."

"I'm fine, Bones, really. It's nothing. In fact, I feel better now." He said straightening up on the couch and sitting. She helped him but didn't let him stood up.

"No, Booth. You're not fine. You have been ignoring all my warnings and this is the result. So, you are going to stay here, lying on your couch, watching the tv. I have to go to the lab for a moment to check if there's something new…" he was about to reply but she continued "…but, I promise you I'll come back in half an hour, ok?"

"No, it's not ok. You are not going to go all alone to the lab. I'm going to go with you, you check what you want to check and then we come back here."

"Booth, please, don't be stubborn. You are not in good condition to go out of here, and if you are worried by my security, what do you think you could do if something happens right now?" She replied and saw an odd expression on his face.

"Why don't you call the lab and ask for the news?" He replied as well.

"Because I need to check if they have ran the tests properly. I need to know that everything has been done following the correct procedures. I'm going to go from my parking here to my parking in the Jeffersonian, driving all the time, so I don't see the danger in this."

"Bones, please. Do you want me to worry all the time until you arrive to the lab? That will cause me a lot of stress." He said, trying to convince her by making her feeling a little guilty. "I'm going to call Perotta and ask her to send someone to pick you up here." He said flopping his phone and dialing Perotta's number.

"Booth, this is absolutely innecesary! I'm not a baby!" But his eyes begged her more than he could have done with words. "This is ridiculous!" She said angrily. Booth talked to Perotta ignoring her protests. She told him that his partner would arrive in fifteen minutes. Brennan was extremely pissed off, and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. She wasn't in the mood to speak with Booth right now. She thought that this was getting ridiculous but also knew that Booth would be as stubborn as he needed to make her do what he wanted, or the way he wanted. Booth came to the kitchen but she wanted him to go to the couch right now.

"Go to the couch now, Booth! I'm not in the mood for this now." She spotted.

"Bones..." He started, but she interrupted him.

"No, please, lie on the couch right now! I know why you're doing this. I understand you, but I don't agree with you in this. I know I'm perfectly capable to go to the lab from here in my car. But I don't want to argue with you again. Please, go to the couch. I'll finish with the dishes and go to the Jeffersonian with my bodyguard, so you could be calmer, and rest a little more, because you need it." She said tiredly.

"Thanks Bones. I'll feel a lot better knowing that you are not going to be alone. And since you accepted it, not willingly but that was the only way, I will rest while you're in the lab. Quid pro quo, you give up a little and I give up a little too."

"Yeah..." She said resigned.

Ten minutes after Agent Harmon arrived to Booth's to pick up Brennan. The way was very silent. At least there was no traffic and they arrived to the Jeffersonian in a bit. She headed to the platform to ask Hodgins if he had something more to tell her, but there was nothing new. Agent Perotta was with Sweets in the meeting table where she was a few hours before, discussing about the killer's profile. They hadn't anything new either. Cam saw her heading to her office and called her.

"Brennan! Come here now, please!"

"What happens?"

"The security staff has brought this package addressed to you two minutes ago. I was going to call you right now."

"A package? What kind of package?" Brennan asked.

"I have the suspicion that it's from our guy. It's similar than the first, with no sender, but a bit smaller."

"Well, I'm going to open it. Please, call Hodgins and Clark to come here right now. Maybe we'll need them." Brennan said putting a pair of gloves and catching the cutter. She opened the package and saw another smaller box, just like the first one. But this time, the second box contained just a note, nothing more. Brennan read it carefully. Cam saw how her face turned white as she read. The note fell from her hands and she left running to where agent Perotta, Agent Harmon and Sweets were discussing. Cam read the letter to Hodgins and Clark.

"_Didn't you like the present I've sent you? That must be fixed. But first I'm going to clean my way to you. I'm not going to share you __with that agent. Don't worry. Soon, you'll be mine. You'll know Heaven with me."_

"Oh, my God!" Cam murmured for herself.

In her running, Brennan called to Booth's phone, but there was no answer. That worried Brennan to the max. She didn't know whether he was sleeping in his couch or something had happened to him.

She arrived where Perotta and Harmon were and explained them the news about the package in a hurry.

"I'm calling him, but he's not answering! Maybe nothing is happening, maybe he is just sleeping, but I can't be sure!" She said too much agitated.

"Let's go to Booth's place. I'll ask the Head Office to send a patrol right now. They can arrive there faster than us." Perotta said heading quickly to her SUV. Brennan was thinking that if something happened to Booth while she wasn't there with him it would be entirely her fault. She was absolutely silent in the rear sit, begging for Harmon to drive faster. When they were in the middle of their way Perotta's phone rang. An agent had arrived to Booth's apartment. The front door was opened and there was nobody inside. The agent was about to comb the zone. Brennan felt her heart jumping in her chest with anxiety.

They arrived to Booth's in three minutes since the agent call, and Brennan jumped from the car and ran toward Booth's apartment with Perotta right behind her. They found the empty apartment in order, but, as the agent had told Perotta, the front door was opened. There was no sign from violence in there. Brennan didn't know what to think. She couldn't believe that Booth hadn't fight if someone had tried to abduct him, but she didn't want to jump to any conclusion. She found Booth's phone on the living room table, just as it was when she left twenty minutes before. She searched for anything that could tell her what had happened there, but everything seemed to be in its place. She heard Perotta speaking through her phone, giving the Head Office the instructions to search for a missing agent, but she didn't pay any attention to her. She was absolutely frantic, tears dampening her cheeks, falling freely. She should have been here. Why had she always to be so damned stubborn? She should have followed Booth's advices and stayed with him. She collapse on a chair in the middle of the living room, her brain trying to work full power, but the worry running freely through her veins, overwhelming her completely.

To be continued...

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I love your reviews!!!!!!!!!


	7. Attack

Hi everybody again,

Here is the seventh chapter of my story. I promise you the action is about to start... but I have to string the story...

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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ATTACK

Booth laid on his couch as soon as Brennan left and put the TV on. He felt a lot better knowing that Agent Harmon escorted her to the lab. He preferred himself to be with her, but he also knew that he wasn't in good condition to protect her properly if something happened. He fell asleep a few minutes later.

Ten minutes had passed when his door opened with no sound. A man, dressed in black with a balaclava on his face and a gun on his hand, walked in silently. He thought that Booth would be sleeping, but he entered aiming his gun to where Booth was. He was pleased to see that Booth hadn't waked up. He came close to him and stuck a syringe in his neck, making Booth wake just a second with the feel of the shot. He fell unconscious in a heartbeat. The man dragged Booth out of the house and took him on his shoulder. With a big effort he walked in the elevator with Booth to the top floor, and then walked up the stairs to the flat roof of the building. He kicked the roof door and then dropped Booth on the floor. He was tired, this man was heavier than he had guessed, he thought.

His plan was so simple that it had to work, he thought, although it had been about to fail miserably, because Dr. Brennan must be at the Jeffersonian this afternoon. He thought that Booth was going to be alone at home. But he knew that Dr. Brennan was going to go to the Jeffersonian and went on with the plan. He had paid a teenager 100$ to send the second package with a false name and without questions. The kid had to give precise instructions to the courier to deliver the package on the Jeffersonian not before 7 pm. This way, he had time enough to do what he had come to do before Dr. Brennan had time to come and find it. He had injected Booth an overdose of tranquilizer that could kill a man in one hour or so. So he thought he could leave him there, in the flat roof to die, and run away through the main entrance without arouse suspicion. When someone found Booth's body he would be far enough. And so he did.

But chance wanted to play in this game too, in Booth's favor this time. The courier delivered the package at 6 pm, because that day he had less packages to deliver and wanted to go home early. The package was delivered 10 minutes after Brennan arrived to the Jeffersonian with agent Harmon. Brennan read the note in the same time the killer dropped Booth to the roof floor. But they didn't know anything about the tranquilizers running through Booth's veins. They ran to Booth's place and found the main door opened and the apartment in order.

Desperation filled Brennan, sitting on a chair in the middle of the living room, when she saw something on the floor that attracted her attention. The doormat was moved to the right and there was a trace of dust from it that ended four meters away, straight to the elevator. She thought that this was strange. Calming a little and washing away the tears she stood up and went toward the door. Agent Perotta saw her walking out and told her partner to follow her, just in case.

"Dr. Brennan! Where are you going?" The agent asked her.

"I think that someone dragged something up to here. But there're no more traces. And bearing in mind that the trace seems to go to the elevator…" She said, and stopped a moment to think. "What if the killer hasn't gone down but up? Maybe he has thought that carry with Booth through the main entrance in broad daylight wasn't an option…" She began to think what this possibility could mean and a shiver of pure fear ran her spine. Booth could be dead in any place of the building. "We must check the building now, Booth could be…" She couldn't finish this sentence, but she headed to the elevator to call the elevator.

"Dr. Brennan, please stay behind me!" He said grabbing her elbow and passing before her in the elevator. He drew his gun. They went up to the next floor, but found nothing, nor the next. They finally arrived to the top floor and saw the flat roof door opened. And when the two went out to the roof they found Booth lying on the floor, unconscious. Brennan ran to him as fast as she could, almost yelling at agent Harmon to call for help.

"Booth! Oh, my God! Booth! Please, wake up!" She knelt down, calling to him, but he didn't wake up. She searched for his pulse and found it, weak, but there it was. "Booth, please, I'm here! Hold on, please!" She said sobbing.

She didn't notice but agent Harmon called Perotta to come to the roof, and the other agent that had arrived there first was waiting in the apartment. He also had called for an ambulance for an injured agent. Brennan was by Booth's side, checking his pulse, and then noticed a little red point on his neck. She remembered that the killer had injected anesthetics to his first victim, the same way he had done to Booth.

The paramedics arrived in less than five minutes. Brennan explained to them about the mark on his neck and that she suspected that the killer had injected something to paralyze him, some tranquilizers or anesthetics. She couldn't be sure, of course, but the paramedics could work with that information too.

They checked Booth's vital signs and took him to the ambulance. Brennan went with him, holding his hand and begging for some luck that could make Booth overcome this. Agents Perotta and Harmon waited for the backup and the FBI forensics, to inspect the scene and the zone.

Brennan was sat in the waiting room of the hospital when Angela and Cam entered the room.

"Hey, sweetie! How are you?" Angela asked.

"How did you know where I was?" She asked in reply.

"Agent Perotta called Cam and told her everything. Now, do you know something about Booth?"

"Not yet. The doctors are trying to stabilize him definitely, but that bastard has injected him an overdose of ketamine and diazepam, just as he did to Karen Lindberg. But this time he has used more. The paramedics were positive, and they thought that Booth could get over this. They thought too that the drug was injected about thirty minutes ago, and he would be dead if we hadn't found him when we did." She stopped talking for a second, trying to back the tears. "Ange, I should have been there, I shouldn't have left him alone. I-I w-was angry with him because I wanted t-to go to the lab for half an hour, and h-he didn't w-want me…" She could't finish. Angela hugged her trying to comfort her a little.

"Honey, you couldn't know this was going to happen. It's not your fault." Angela said trying to calm her down.

"Yes, it's my damn fault, because if I hadn't been so stubborn and stayed with him at home this wouldn't have happened." She replied.

"You cannot be sure of that. Maybe you'd be dead right now. You can't know that."

Cam was pondering and she said. "I don't understand something. How is, that the killer sends you the package to the Jeffersonian and then attacks Booth at his home? He has to be watching you, because it seems to me that he was waiting for you to go to the lab, to attack him. And how did he know that Booth was going to be asleep?" She asked, trying to put two and two together. Brennan stopped a moment and went over the last hour.

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea of how he did know it." She said. Then she dialed Perotta's number.

"Hello Dr. Brennan. How is Booth? Do you know something?"

"Agent Perotta…" She started without answer her question. "I suspect that the killer has been listening to us, maybe watching us. It's possible that there could be hidden microphones in the apartment."

"Why do you suspect that?"

"Because, who has done that, knew that Booth was going to be asleep. Think about it. He entered the house with a syringe? He didn't want a fight, he just wanted to kill Booth. I was arguing with Booth a few moments before agent Harmon arrived to pick me up. I was telling him that he need to rest, and when I finally agreed to go with your partner he told me that he felt a lot better knowing that I wasn't going to be alone, and that he was going to try to get some sleep. And besides, that bastard has to be watching the house from somewhere, because he has waited till Booth was alone to attack him. The paramedics have told me that the overdose was supplied thirty minutes before we found him." She explained.

"Let me make a few verifications here. I've already sent my partner to the hospital to escort you, because we suspect that he's going to try to do something to you. He has been able to leave Booth out for the count very easy, and he is a former Ranger. I'm sure he's going to try something. Don't leave the hospital, it's a public place and you'll be safer there than outside. I've spoke to Dr. Saroyan and she has told me she was going to go to the hospital too. Please, stay there until agent Harmon arrives. I'll keep you informed." And she hung up.

"What has she said?" Cam asked.

"They are going to check the apartment." Brennan answered absently.

"What more?" Cam insisted.

"She suspects that who has done this, will try to do something more, and she has sent agent Harmon here. He would be about to arrive."

"Bren…" Angela started, but the doctor came and Brennan sprang out of the chair.

"Doctor, how is he?" She asked doubtfully.

"He is ok, you don't have to worry. We have stabilized his respiration and cardiac rhythm. He's awake now, but we think that he's a little delirious, because he's saying something about some bones that we don't understand." He said, and Brennan, Cam and Angela sighed in relief. Angela answered to the Doctor with a mix of relief and fun in her face.

"No, he's not delirious. He is just calling Dr. Brennan. 'Bones' is his nickname for her."

"Oh, that is good! You could follow me, if you want to see him. But I have to say that he needs to rest, so please, don't stay long in there." The doctor said as the three woman followed him to Booth's room.

"Booth! How do you feel?" Cam and Angela said in unison. Brennan stayed a little behind them and looked at Booth, trying to calm the torrent of emotions flowing inside her. Booth was indeed awake and seemed to be ok.

"I'm fine. A little dizzy, but it's passing quickly." He said looking directly at Brennan. He realized that she was upset by something. He'd ask her when they could be alone. Then he turned to the doctor. "Doctor, when will I be able to go home?"

"Well, I want to watch to your vital signs tonight, and if everything goes as I think you'll be free to go tomorrow morning."

"That will be great!" He replied

"Ladies, remember that he needs to rest a little, please. Don't stay long." The doctor said, and went out of the room. Brennan went after him. She asked him if there would be a problem if she spent the night here, but the doctor said that she could stay, as long as she made sure that Booth sleep properly.

She came back to the room and Angela and Cam were about to leave him to rest, as the doctor had said. Brennan followed them out of the room, and told them that she was going to stay with him. They understood her need, and left, making her promise to call immediately if something happened or she needed anything. She came back to the room and sat in a chair close to the bed. She didn't look at him, because she didn't know what to say. But Booth knew what was going on.

"Hey!" He said, putting his hand on hers. "Why are you so nervous? I'm ok, you don't need to worry now."

"How…" She was about to reply, but a knock on the door interrupted her, and she slipped her hand from Booth's. It was agent Harmon.

"Hello Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth, I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better by the minute." He said sincerely. "I want to thank you and Perotta for the help. If it hadn't been for you I would be dead right now, I'm sure."

"You don't have to thank us. It was Dr. Brennan who found you."

"Really?" He said, turning to Brennan. He put his hand again on hers. "Thank you Bones!"

"You'd have done the same for me." She said looking at his hand. He noticed her really disturbed and didn't insist in talking to her right now. He'd wait until agent Harmon left to speak to her. But he needed to know what had happened.

"Could you explain what happened to me? I mean, I remember to wake up a second when I felt something sticking my neck, I saw a man with a balaclava, but I don't remember anything else." He asked.

"We don't know exactly, my partner was at your apartment with the forensics searching for anything that could help us. But I can tell you how we found you." Brennan was really nervous, and tried to slip from his grip, but Booth squeezed her hand, not allowing her to leave. He knew she was trying to build a shell and hide in it. But she really needed some fresh air.

"Booth, let me go. I-I need to go to t-the bathroom!" She said and she finally slipped her hand from his. Booth felt the distance growing from her, not physical distance, but emotional. He was sure that he'd need to get to her, because he knew she was blaming herself for what had happened. He knew because he would be feeling exactly the same if this had happened to her instead. He thought too, that she wouldn't talk about anything with agent Harmon here, so he let her go to the bathroom.

"Please, agent Harmon, continue." He encouraged.

"Dr. Brennan received another package at the Jeffersonian, 10 minutes before we arrived there. There was just a note in it. I don't remember the exact words but in short it said that he was going to clean the way to her and that he don't want to share her with you. She tried to call to your phone, but you didn't answer her and she was worried for you. She didn't know if you were sleeping or something had happened, and she came to tell us. We headed to your apartment but another agent arrived there first and called us. He told us that your main door was opened but there was nobody inside, and that the apartment hadn't any sign of violence. We arrived there three minutes after, and Dr. Brennan thought that the man couldn't go out carrying with you at daylight, and maybe he has gone up. She was right…"

"She's always right" Booth interrupted for a second.

"… and we found you on the flat roof, lying unconscious. We found no sign of anyone there, although Perotta is still at your apartment with the forensics searching for traces."

"I see…" Booth said.

"Dr. Brennan saw a little mark on your neck and told the paramedics that you could have been injected with some tranquilizer. They stabilized you thanks to her indications."

"Thanks for your help, anyway."

"You're welcome, agent Booth, but we have some suspicions that you need to know."

"Go ahead."

"We suspect that the man who has done this to you will try to do something, and we don't think he's going to wait long. He has demonstrated to be an intelligent man, and that makes him more dangerous than we thought."

"I agree. In fact I'm thinking that he has to be angry, because I'm not dead. If he was watching us sure he was somewhere near when you arrived to my apartment. I don't know what is he thinking, but, if the first time he tried to get her and couldn't he went to catch another victim, it's possible that he does something like that now, don't you think?" At this statement Harmon nodded in agreement. "But it's possible too that he tries to go after Bones very soon. Even if I'm not dead, I'm not able to protect her from here, and that leads me to think that he could try something this very night."

"Yes, that's what we are afraid of." Agent Harmon pulled out a gun from his ankle and handed it to Booth. "Take it, just in case. I'll be at your door all the time, and Dr. Brennan should be here too." Booth took the gun and put it below his pillow.

"I bet she is going to stay here all the night, don't worry."

"Ok, then. I'll be outside, if you need anything."

"Thank you very much, agent Harmon."

"Don't thank me yet. Wait until we catch that son of a bitch, then you'll be able to thank me all you want." He replied and opened the door. Brennan came in as he went out and sat on a chair right in front of the door.

She sat heavily again on the chair close to the bed and looked at Booth firstly since they were alone.

"You must rest, Booth. Try to sleep."

"You are repeating yourself, Bones!" He said jokingly while he held her hand again. He needed to feel her here, and he was sure she needed the same. "Agent Harmon has explained everything to me. You've saved my life, Bones."

"Yes, I suppose I've done it." She answered dryly.

"And now you're blaming yourself because you think that what has happened is your fault. Aren't you?"

"Of course it's my damn fault Booth!" She said, trying to stay in control of her emotions.

"No, it's not. You're a logic person, Bones. Tell me what's the logic that leads you to feel responsible for what has happened." He said squeezing her hand a little and caressing it with his thumb.

"I-I d-don't know, Booth. I s-should have been with y-you. If I hadn't been so stubborn nothing of this w-would have happened. You have almost b-been k-killed today! Maybe it isn't logic at all, but I can't help to feel guilty, and I don't like it!" She caught some air. "I-I'm trying hard to not feel b-bad, I'm trying to compartmentalize the feelings from the facts, but I can't, a-and I don't know why! I-I d-don't k-know what t-to do, n-now!" She hated to feel so vulnerable, but he couldn't help it. Two tears fell treacherously. "And don't tell me I don't have to feel guilty, because if this had happened to me, I'm sure you'd feel exactly the same way as me!" He listened to her, knowing that she was right. But he felt the need to comfort her, to show her that he was alright, and he was going to be perfectly fine in a few hours. He straightened up on his bed and grabbing her right arm with his left hand, he made her lean onto him, holding her tight. He put all his heart in that embrace. She let herself go in his arms, and grabbed him tighter. And cried. She only could break down this way with him.

"Shhh, calm down, I'm here." He said, trying to comfort her. But she grabbed him even tighter. He did the same. "Everything is going to be ok, Bones, I promise you."

"You can't promise me that, Booth." She replied, without releasing him.

"I know, but I can promise you I'll try my best to do it."

"I'm sorry, Booth. I don't mean to break this way. I hate to feel the way I do right now." She said, moving away slowly from his embrace. He cleaned her tears with his thumbs.

"You don't have to feel sorry. I understand you. You were right when you said that I'd feel exactly the same if it had been you who were in this bed right now. But we are going to catch this bastard before he could touch you, ok?"

"Or before he kills you." She replied.

"Yes, I'm not counting on letting him get to me so easily again."

"I'm not going to leave you alone again, Booth. You can count on that."

"That's great, because I don't want you to be alone too, and the best way to be sure is to stay with you all the time. I watch your six and you watch mine." He said.

"I don't know what that means."

"You cover my back and I cover yours. You watch for me and I watch for you. That means." He said.

"Ok. Yes, you're right." She answered. "And I'm going to start right now, even if you think I'm repeating myself. But you need to sleep now if you want to be ok to leave tomorrow morning."

"Ok, but promise me that you're going to be inside the room all the time. And if you want to go out, you wake me up, and tell agent Harmon, who has to be watching the door, to accompany you wherever you want to go."

"Booth… what if I need to go to the bathroom? Is he going to come with me to the toilet too?"

"He can wait for you outside the bathroom. Now promise me." He insisted.

"But who will be watching your room if we are not here?" She replied with worry.

"I'll do it myself." He answered showing her the gun that agent Harmon had given to him. "Promise me, please!"

"Ok, I promise you. Now, sleep!" She said.

To be continued...

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I promise the real action will start with the next chapter...

I love your reviews!!!!


	8. Hunting

Hi everybody again,

Here is the eighth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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HUNTING

Booth woke up in the middle of the night. He saw Brennan sleeping in an armchair with a magazine in her lap. She seemed more peaceful now, and that made him feel some relief.

He remembered the dream he had when he was in the coma, and the feelings he was having since then. No, that's not exact. He had been feeling exactly this way for a long time ago, but he couldn't admit it to himself freely. But now it was undeniable, because he could barely hide the feelings for her to the world. They were becoming stronger every minute, and he knew he must do something about them or they would drive him crazy. But what? How? He knew he couldn't go and tell on her face, because that would scare her and made her run. Maybe he could talk to Angela… No, that wasn't a good idea, she would run in ecstasy and tell her in the next second. He sighed in frustration.

He looked at her again, and his mind betrayed him. He began to imagine (again) how it would be to touch her, to caress her, to kiss her, to make love to her… Oh, my God… I'm already beyond to the point of no return, he thought. He kept staring at her for a while, watching her sleep, trying to imagine her dreams. He fell asleep again thinking about her.

Brennan woke up too, sometime later. She checked on Booth and she thought she saw an odd expression on Booth's face, but it vanished the next second. She stared at him, thinking how close it had been to lose him today. This thought gave her shiver in terror.

Her phone started buzzing and took her from her thoughts.

"Brennan" She answered without reading who was calling.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan! It's a pleasure to speak to you, at last." A male voice said, with something in it that made her feel uneasy.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you my name yet. I was calling just to announce you that our love nest is ready for us. Very soon I'll show it to you. I'm sure you'll like it."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Who are you? And how did you get my phone number?" She insisted angrily. Booth had woken up when she had answered the phone, and was listening. She was becoming more nervous and looked at Booth. They both knew who was calling and Booth flipped his own phone and called the Head Office to trace the call. Then she put her phone on speaker, so Booth could hear the conversation.

"Tell agent Booth that it's useless to try to trace this call. Do you think I'm stupid? This is a prepaid number, and the FBI will never link it to me." He said very calmly, leaving Brennan still, looking at Booth's eyes. "I forgive you for this lack of trust in my abilities because you don't know me yet as well as I know you." Booth was gesturing for her to keep him on the line, while the FBI was trying to locate the call.

"You don't know anything about me. Have you asked me if I think you're stupid? Do you really want me to answer to that question? Of course your poor attempt to impress me with your _gift _is enough answer." She said trying to stay in control.

"I'm sorry to hear that you didn't like my _brilliant _present. I promise you I'll do better next time. And, as I said to you, I'll forgive your rough words, because you don't know me yet. We're going to fix this situation together, don't worry. You'd better be getting ready to come with me." The soft tone of voice was more threatening than if he had been shouting.

"I'm not going to go with you anywhere, though you were the last man walking on Earth! You've killed Karen Lindberg and sure you'll do the same to me if you have the chance. But do you want to know something? You're not going to put your hands on me. I'm far more intelligent than you, so don't pretend to be what you're not. I'm sure you're just a loser that needs to demonstrate his nonexistent _abilities_ just to feel he's better than the others." She said irritated, and trying not to demonstrate her fear.

"I'm sorry for Karen, because she was just a poor substitute of what you could have been, and because of that I had to kill her. I couldn't let her live, she was nothing compared to you."

"You're a monster. You should be degraded from the humankind. You make me sick!" She said repulsively, and Booth watched to her astonished.

"Dr. Brennan, my patience has a limit. You wouldn't like to get me angry, would you?" He replied in a menacing, but low, voice. Then Booth thought that it could be a good idea to get him angry, because he could make a mistake in that mental state. He encouraged her to keep doing the same while he waited for something from the Head Office.

"I really couldn't care less about how you get or feel. I'm sure you will have enough time in jail to stop being angry, because you will be there for the rest of your life!"

At that moment Booth hung up his phone, stood up from the bed and hung up her phone too.

"He's here Bones, we must go out of here now!" He said taking off the I.V. and the electrodes.

"What are you doing?" She asked impatiently.

"I can't go out with all these machines connected to me!" He dressed in less than ten seconds and caught the gun that Harmon had handed him before. He opened the door a bit and took a quick look, and when he was sure, he pushed Brennan lightly out of the room. Agent Harmon was nowhere to be seen. "Where the Hell is Harmon?" He asked to himself.

"What's happening, Booth?" Brennan asked impatiently.

"Communications has told me that they couldn't get any information about the number he was calling from, but they have told me what base station he was connected to. And he's connected to the one on the top of this hospital. I'm sure he's here, and he was just distracting us, keeping you on the line. Back up is coming, but we must go out of that room, because that will be the first place where he will come searching for you. The security of the hospital is going to close all the entries, so he can't go away."

"Nor us. And where will we go? He could be everywhere and we don't know how he looks like, but he knows exactly who we are. He can recognize us in a bit, but we cannot. It's not a good idea, Booth! Besides you need to stay in a bed!"

"Call agent Perotta and ask her where the Hell is her partner. He should be right in front of the door, damn it!" He said ignoring her protests. He knew she was right, he could be anywhere lying in wait for them, but he cannot wait for him to come inside the room and do whatever he wanted… That was not going to happen, no way, Booth thought. "We could hide in another room with a telephone and call reception. Maybe they could tell us if someone has come asking for my room."

"Ok, let's go! I'll call agent Perotta as soon as we could be in a safer place than this corridor. We should leave this floor, Booth. Go to another one. This way it will be a lot more difficult for him to find us." She suggested and they headed to the emergency stairs, hoping that nobody was in there.

"Stay behind me, Bones!" He said opening the door. Fortunately it was empty. Booth walked aiming the gun downstairs, and two floors down they headed to the door that led to the main corridor of the floor.

The corridor was empty too, for their luck. Booth tried the first doors but they were locked or with a patient in it. But in the middle of the corridor they found an open and empty room, perfect for hiding in there. "We can stay here for the moment. Call Perotta now, please!" He urged locking the door behind him.

"I'm already dialing!" She spotted. There were two o'clock in the morning, she was just sleeping a few minutes before, a killer was trying to get her and Perotta wasn't answering. She hung up frustrated, while Booth called the reception.

"The receptionist has told me that a man has asked for my room ten minutes ago. He has had enough time to arrive to the room before we went out. I don't understand. Why has he waited so long? I have the feeling that he's toying with us."

Brennan's phone buzzed again. It was him. "Booth…" She said disturbed.

"Give me the phone." He told her. She handed the phone and he picked it up. "Leave her alone, you fucking bastard!"

"Agent Booth! What a pity to hear your voice, it's a lot more unpleasant than Dr. Brennan's. You are becoming a pain in the ass, you know?" He said ironically.

"I'm glad to be able to piss you off!" He said dryly, putting on the speaker again.

"Well, I have to say that that poor agent could have been a good match but, ups, he was _sooo_ sleepy in that chair that I couldn't help to do to him the same I did to you. Only this time I'm sure he won't survive. But you two have surprised me. I expected to find both of you in your room, but it seems that you have gone while I was carrying the poor agent to a more private place. But I like games. I'm sure Dr. Brennan loves games too. Do you mind to ask her, please?" He kept being sarcastic.

"Listen to me carefully! If you dare to touch a single hair on her head I will KILL you, even if I have to move Heaven and earth! I swear it to you!" Booth said that in a very menacing and angry voice.

"Don't threaten me, agent Booth. You must be sure you'll be able to keep your word before threaten someone this way. And I'm going to make me sure that you couldn't interrupt my time with Dr. Brennan, so your threat is in vain. Don't waste your breath." He kept that sarcastic and calmed voice, and that was making Booth and Brennan feel really disturbed.

"You're sick! But you already know it! Besides, you'll not be able to escape from this hospital." Booth shouted.

"Ah, agent Booth!" He said with condescension, as if he was talking to a child that refuses to understand. "You two have the ability of underestimate me. I can forgive her doing it, but I'm not in the mood to forgive you." That last statement sounded more threatening. In that exact moment Brennan watched a man in the corridor, talking through a cell phone. She gestured nervously to Booth to come to the door glass. The man was walking toward the room, turning his head in every glass door, and looking inside. He wore a cap and they couldn't see his face clearly. "In fact, I'm already thinking about punish you some way. I can be very creative!" He said. Booth had the sensation that that bastard was enjoying this situation. The man was almost in front of their door. Booth blocked the microphone with his hand.

"Listen to me, Bones. I'm going to open the door and hit that bastard with it. If something goes wrong I want you to run, ok?" He whispered.

"No! It's not ok! I'm not going to leave you alone with this sicko, Booth!" She replied.

"Please! Do as I say! We have no time to argue about this!" He said. The man was now in front of the door, and Booth didn't think twice. He opened the door violently, knocking the man out on the floor. His cell phone flied four meters away. Booth aimed the gun to him and knelt down to search him. Brennan went to pick up the man's phone and turned again to Booth and the unconcious man. It was still connected, but not with her phone.

"Booth… this phone was not connected to mine! He is not who was after us!" She said. And then she heard a click on her right ear. She had a gun directly aimed to her temple. Right behind her had appeared a tall man, who had come through the same stairs they had used before. His right hand was aiming the gun and his left one a syringe. He stuck it on her neck but didn't inject the content. She froze.

"She is right, agent Booth." The voice sounded louder and Booth was surprised, because it hadn't came from the phone. A cold shiver ran through his spine. "This poor man was not who you think." The man said, with sarcasm in his voice and face, arrogantly. Booth aimed the gun directly to him and stood up, but he was using Brennan as a shield. Booth felt his heart froze in that moment, looking directly to Brennan's eyes. She stared at him trying to get some strength from him, and he was trying to hide the fear and desperation. But he failed miserably and the man noticed it.

"Oh, look at that! I think I'm going to kill two birds with one stone! I'm going to make you suffer the Hell, while I enjoy her. That's absolutely perfect!" He said funny.

"Let her go now!" Booth said standing up.

"Or what? Where are your threats now, agent Booth? I'm indeed touching her whole head." He said handling her hair. He turned to speak to Brennan. "In fact I'm planning to touch you all we want. Right, sweetheart?" He said to Brennan.

"You won't be able to go out of the hospital, neither with me nor without me!" Brennan said dryly.

"Oh, we'll see. Agent Booth… I have two options right now to kill her, the gun and the syringe. Don't make me waste my time and drop your gun." He was being arrogant again.

"Booth! No! Shoot at him!" Brennan shouted. The man pushed the gun stronger against her head to make her be quiet and she felt the needle of the syringe sticking deeper. The man was smiling sarcastically. But Booth was paralyzed. He simply couldn't take the risk of shooting at her. But he didn't want to drop the gun. He must try to distract him enough time for the FBI team to arrive.

"Let her go, NOW!" Booth almost yelled it.

"You are not going to shoot. Your face is like an open book. You can't risk a shot against me with her in the middle. But I've changed my mind. The best way to spend my time with her without interruptions will be shooting at you!" The man said, and aimed the gun directly to Booth. That lack of attention on her was what she needed to attack the man. She elbowed him on the liver, just at the same time he pulled the trigger. The shot grazed Booth's right arm, making him drop the gun and fall on his knees. The man released the syringe with the hit, but a little bit of content was injected inside her veins, making her feel a little dizzy instantly, although not enough to make her fall. She took the chance to run toward Booth. She was now shielding Booth instead, looking at the killer in the eye, trying to focus her view. She wasn't sure who he was, but she knew him from somewhere. She thought that if he indeed wanted to take her somewhere, then he wanted her alive. She pulled the syringe out of her neck and threw it away.

"Bones! What are you doing? Get out of here!!" He yelled, but she ignored him.

"I'm not going to let you kill him! You have to kill both of us!" Brennan told the man.

"I'm not going to give up because of this." He said stepping back through the stairs door. His smile had faded from his face. "But be sure I'm not going to forgive you easily after this betrayal." He said before going through the stairs door and disappear. She turned to Booth and saw four FBI agents coming toward them through the corridor aiming their guns. That's why that bastard had run away, she thought.

"Are you ok?" She asked him looking at his bloody arm.

"Yes, don't worry, it's just a scratch." One of the agents stopped by their side, another knelt on the man who Booth had knocked out, while the others followed the man through the stairs.

"Agent Booth?"

"Why have you taken so long?" He replied not meaning it at all. The agents just took seven or eight minutes to arrive.

"Are you ok, sir?" The agent asked.

"Yes, yes, don't worry. The bullet has just grazed me." He replied. But he was thinking about Bones. He was angry and worried for her at the same time. "Bones, and you? Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Why did you step in front of me? You could have got killed!" he said grabbing her from her shoulders.

"I know, but it was the only way to save you! He wanted me alive, and I thought that he wouldn't shoot you while I was in his line of fire." She was having troubles to fix her gaze. "And don't yell at me! You have done exactly the same for me before!"

"I know, I know!" He said holding her possessively. She squeezed him tight, feeling the anxiety go away in his arms. He felt her shake lightly. She was feeling faint due to what had been injected to her. "Bones! What's happening to you?" Booth held her before she could fall and took her in his arms. "Please! Call for help!" He told to the agent. He headed with her to the bedroom where they had hidden before, and lied her down on the bed.

"Bones! Come on! Open your eyes!" He said desperately.

"I'm ok Booth." He felt a lot relieved when he heard her voice. "Don't worry. I'm just a little sick. He must have injected a little bit of what was in that syringe. I'm going to be ok." She remained with her eyes closed.

"I'm sure of that. The nurses are coming to help you." He was watching her carefully, placing a lock of hair behind her ear, and caressing her face with infinite care.

"You need to go to clean and check that wound, Booth, and to return to a bed too." She said opening her eyes a little.

"I promise you I'll go as soon as the doctors check on you. You can't help to be bossy even now, can you?" He said, trying to release a bit of tension. In that moment a pair of nurses and a doctor entered the room and make Booth move away from her and wait outside. How close they have been to disaster, too much close, he thought. He remained in the doorjamb looking at her, and he couldn't help to think that she was one of the bravest persons he had ever met. She had saved his life twice in one day. When the doctor told him that she was just under the effect of a small dose of tranquilizers, and that she will be ok in a few hours he leant on the wall and sigh in relief. He saw that the doctor had gone to help the man he had knocked out to stand up and then he helped him to lie down on a couch. He must go later to apologize to him.

The nurses were going to take Brennan to an Emergencies box. While they prepared her he talked to the agents.

"Have you already caught that bastard?"

"I don't know anything yet, agent Booth. I will inform you as soon as I have any information."

"I suspect that he has attacked the agent that was with us, agent Harmon. He told me that he had injected something and he was dead."

"Ok, give me the details and agent Clarkson will go to search for him right now. Maybe we are still in time." The agent said. Booth told him everything that had happened as fast as he could. Meanwhile more agents arrived. A few were sent in search for agent Harmon. Moments later the nurses were pushing a wheelchair where Brennan was sat.

"I've told them I could walk by myself, but they didn't let me!" Brennan protested.

"This is a hospital rule, Dr. Brennan. I've already told you." The tallest nurse replied.

"Let me, please." Booth said, and the other nurse let him push the wheelchair. "She could be very stubborn. Don't pay attention to her protests." He told to the nurses with a funny complaisance.

"Booth! It's not a stubborness problem. It's just that this is a way to waste a wheelchair with someone that doesn't need it!"

"We know that, but you need it. What if you faint again?"

"I'm not going to faint again. They have injected me a dose of dopamine to increase my cardiac rhythm and my level of alertness."

"That's amazing Bones, but you are going to be a good girl and let me take you to Emergencies, where you could be more comfortable in a box for a while."

"Don't treat me like a child, Booth!"

The nurses were smiling at the bickering, thinking that those two were a lovely couple.

To be continued...

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Please, review!!!!!!!! Have I told you that I love your reviews????????

Next chapter is coming soon... and we'll know what happens with the killer, agent Harmon and more and more...

**Author's note**: I've added a few comments to try to explain more clearly the way the killer speaks... because I read it again and I've realized that it wasn't clear enough. I hope you've understood him as I was trying to write him!


	9. Conclusions

Hi everybody again,

Here is the nineth chapter of my story. I hope you like it. This is longer than the others, but I had to explain a lot of things in this one...

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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CONCLUSIONS

Booth was in an Emergencies box and Brennan was in the adjoining one. They have two agents in each door. The doctors were making sure that both partners were undergoing the appropriated treatment. Agent Miller, the one that had been talking to Booth before, was waiting outside Booth's box for the nurses to finish the bandage in his arm. It was just a superficial wound, unimportant. Then he entered hesitantly.

"Agent Booth?" He said, knocking the door.

"Yes, come in! Have you found agent Harmon?"

"Yes, we found him and fortunately he was still alive, and the doctors are trying to stabilize him right now."

"Oh, thank God!" Booth said in relief.

"He was in a storage room, unconscious, and his pulse and breathe rate were slow, but he was alive." The agent explained.

"What about the man who has tried to abduct my partner? Have you caught him?" Booth asked.

"Not yet, the agents that were chasing him have said that he had vanished in the stairs… he had gone downstairs some floors down, and then he just disappeared. They had searched every room in the floor they suspected he could be, but they have found nothing. We're sure that he's still in the building, so the team is going to search him in every hole of the hospital. We're going to find him. He can't go out of here."

"Ok." Booth said disappointed. "Oh, we have tried to contact agent Perotta, but we couldn't. Could you try to get hold of her, please?"

"Sure. She is agent Harmon's partner, right?"

"Yes, and the one in charge of this case. She should be here. I don't know why she wasn't answering her phone."

"Don't worry, agent Booth. We'll contact her. I'll keep you informed."

"Thanks." Booth said as the agent left. Then, he got out of the bed and went to Brennan's box. The nurses were still with her, checking her vital signs. He waited for them to finish and then entered the room.

"Hey" He said.

"Hey" She answered.

"How do you feel?" He asked softly.

"I'm perfectly fine right now. They have given me a stimulant to counteract the effects of the tranquilizers."

"Yes, dopamine. You told me earlier. I suppose they have given me the same, because I'm bright and breezy right now!" He said smiling a little. But he turned serious the next second. "Agent Miller has just told me that they have found agent Harmon in a storage room. He was still alive. The doctors are with him right now, they're trying to stabilize him." He said.

"Do they know what that…" she didn't name him "...has given to him?"

"Yes, they know." They both remained silent for a few seconds and then Brennan spoke again.

"Have the agents arrested him?" She said knowing the answer.

"Not yet. But he can't go out of the hospital. The team is searching the building right now. Sooner or later they'll find him. Don't worry." He tried to sound convincing.

"I know him, Booth." She said with concern.

"Do you know him? Really?" He asked impatiently.

"His face seemed familiar to me, but I can't remember where I've seen him before. And besides, my visual perception was reduced because of the tranquilizers. I know I've met him before, but I'm not able to remember where or when."

"Don't despair. Maybe he's just someone that someone else has introduced you in some social event. It's impossible to remember every person we meet in our lives, Bones."

"I know, but… it annoys me, not be able to remember him!"

"It's ok, Bones. Don't worry. The FBI is going to catch him, and you'll know everything you want about him." He sat on the left side of her bed, with his right leg on it and the left one on the floor. This way he could look at her. "Bones, do you want to talk about what has happened?" He asked in low voice.

"There's nothing to talk about. That bastard had tried to kill you and to kidnap me, but he couldn't. That's all."

"Bo… Temperance…" he said, holding her hand once again. But she interrupted him.

"No! I'm ok, Booth! I'm not afraid of him." She said, but he knew her better. Besides, she was shaking a little, enough to make Booth be aware of the truth.

"Bones, maybe you can fool someone else, but I'm a sharp cookie!"

"You're what? a cookie?" She said confused. "I don't know what that means, and anyway, what have cookies to do with this?" Booth looked at her amused.

"No, Bones. It means that you can't lie to me. I know you, remember? It's ok to be afraid of him. I'm afraid of him too, because he has demonstrated he's capable of almost everything to get what he wants, and what he wants turns out to be you. And he's very intelligent too." He saw her annoyed face. "I'm sure not as intelligent as you, of course." She smiled at him and waited a few seconds to speak again. "I'm glad I make you smile…" He said smiling too. He remained looking at her deep eyes for a moment, letting to get himself lost on them for a while. But more thrilling was that she was aware of it, and let him do it because she couldn't help to do exactly the same, and kept staring at his brown eyes. He couldn't help to feel a wave of feelings crushing on him. One moment passed, then two. She was used to hide her emotions, but it was getting harder and harder to do it now, and finally she looked away, bowing her head a little. He hadn't released her hand and felt it shake slightly in his own. He thought he saw a glimpse of something that he rarely had seen in her eyes and wasn't sure what it was, and felt the need to scan her them again. Softly, he put his hand under her chin and made her raise her head and look at him again. She noticed something different in Booth's eyes too, something that she couldn't identify, something that scared her in some way, though she couldn't do anything to stop it. Her cheeks flushed and in that exact moment a knocks on the door broke the spell.

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan?" She slipped her hand away from his.

"Yes, agent Miller?" Said Booth, hiding the disappointing in his voice.

"We have found agent Perotta."

"Where is she?" Booth asked, standing up.

"She was at your place with a forensic team when she received a call from the headquarters. Someone had called her there to notify that there was another body with some kind of message for her, in a building close to yours. She went there with another agent, since his partner was here. They headed to the underground parking of that building and entered in a room. They found no body, but the door closed behind them, leaving them trapped in the room, with no way of communication with the outside. They couldn't open the door from the inside, because it had an automatic lock, and it seemed that the phones didn't work in there. They have been free five minutes ago. I don't know anything more, but she's coming here, so she'll be able to explain every detail to you."

"So, she doesn't know anything about his partner yet?" Brennan asked.

"I don't know, Dr. Brennan. I haven't talked to her. This information came from the headquarters, so it's possible that they have told her something about what has happened here tonight. But as I said, I'm not sure." The agent answered.

"Ok. Thanks again, agent Miller. Please, call me as soon as she arrives here." Booth asked.

"Ok, sir." And he left.

"I don't like this. I don't like it at all!" Booth said, shaking his head.

"What are you talking about?" Brennan asked.

"I don't like the way things are going. I have a feeling that that bastard had everything planned, even to get Perotta out of the way. And I don't like the fact that the agents haven't found him yet."

"Booth, I'm sure they are doing everything they can to catch him." But he wasn't paying any attention.

"Wait!" He said, and suddenly, he went out of the room a looked at the ceiling. Then he came to the room again.

"Call Angela. Maybe we can identify him through the surveillance cameras of the hospital. I'll ask agent Miller to send the images to her." He said, impatiently.

"Ok, but it's nearly five o'clock in the morning. She sure won't be glad with the idea of get off from the bed so early."

"Don't worry. As soon as you tell her what has happened tonight she'll be here in a hurry. I'll tell Miller to let her come in." He said, and was right. Brennan called Angela, and she told her that she would be at the hospital in less than ten minutes, and hung up before she could protest.

Booth left the room to talk to agent Miller and asked him to get and send every security record from the last week since now, to the Jeffersonian.

Meanwhile, Brennan was in her room, thinking about that strange moment with Booth. What would have happened if agent Miller hadn't knocked to the door in that exact moment? She wasn't sure. But what scared her the most was that she'd have done nothing to stop him, if he had tried to do something. That look of him had shut her brain off. She couldn't think rationally in that moment, but now yes, she could. What the hell was happening to Booth? He hadn't been the same since he had woken from the coma. She had caught him staring at her where he thought nobody was seeing him, and he was a lot more overprotective than ever. Maybe this has something to do with that dream he had while he was in the coma... Yes, it could be, she thought. He had woken up saying strange things about them being married, and he was mixing the dream and the reality. And then everything clicked in her head, and the new whole vision overwhelmed her so much, and she didn't know how to react.

Angela stormed in the room in that moment.

"Sweetie!!!! Are you ok?" She said, coming close the bed in a second.

"Hi Ange. Yes, I'm absolutely fine, don't worry." Brennan answered trying to sound calm.

"Of course I'm worried! Look at you! You're in a hospital!" Angela said.

"I already know that, Ange! I've called you from here. But really, I'm fine." Angela was very used to this kind of answers coming from her, so she simply ignored it.

"You are going to tell me everything that has happened here, right now, ok?" Angela said firmly, and Brennan explained everything about the killer calls, agent Harmon, how that maniac had tried to abduct her and kill Booth, the syringe, how she had put herself in the line of fire… everything, except for the last part in the box with Booth. She thought this wasn't the right moment to talk about it.

"You two are going to be the death of me! Couldn't you stop of getting in troubles for a while?" She said angrily, but kindly at the same time. "Well, this trouble specifically is not your fault, I know, but even so!" In that moment Booth came back.

"Good morning, Angela." He said.

"Good morning to you too..." She answered. "Bren was explaining to me what has happened here, and I'm going to head to the lab as soon as the hospital gives me the videos."

"You won't have to wait too long, I hope. Agent Miller is talking to the security staff to get all the dvds and bring them to you."

"That will be perfect." Said Angela. "When will you two go out of here?"

"As soon as the doctor let Bones leave. I'm free to go wherever I want."

"What? The doctors have released you?" Brennan asked incredully.

"Yes, they think it'll be better for me to stay in another place than here. Not at my place, of course, until the forensics finish to inspect it. I'm sure they'll finish in the course of day. I'll stay here until the doctors release you, and then I'm going to go with you to the lab. I suppose you want to go to the lab, right?"

"Yes, of course. I have a lot of work to do there."

"Ok then."

Agent Miller knocked again.

"Agent Booth, I have the videos."

"Hey, handsome, give it to me." Angela said, turning directly to Miller.

"Angela, you should first take a look at what has happened in the 4th floor between 3:00 and 3:30 this morning. I hope you could find an angle with a clear view of his face." Booth said.

"Yes, I've already thought about doing so. Then I'll be able to search in all the other videos for the same face, or even the same body. Maybe some other cameras have recorded him before." She said. "I'll call you as soon as I find anything, ok?" She promised.

"Agent Booth, I have bad news." Miller said.

"Spit it out."

"We have found a storage room in the lowest floor with an access to the sewers from there. The lid was closed but there was a note addressed to Dr. Brennan upon it. It was under a chair. That was why the agents didn't see it in the first reconnaissance. The agent that found it has called me as soon as he found it. He thought it was from our man, and he was right."

"What does it say?" She asked.

"You can read it yourself. Here it is." Miller gave a small white paper to her, just written on one side. It has been handwritten, and very quickly.

"_To the agent that find this note: tell Dr. Brennan that I don't give up. I'll come back soon._

_Thank you!_

_P.D.: Sorry for running away!"_

"He has escaped from the hospital. That doesn't surprise me." Booth said, trying to stay calm.

"I'm afraid you're right. The agents are combing the sewers, but there's a labyrinth down there. It's nearly impossible to find him in there. He could be anywhere right now."

"Shit!" Booth said, absolutely exasperated. "He had everything planned!" He said punching the wall.

"Booth! Calm down!" Brennan told him.

"Booth, we are going to catch him, ok? I'm sure I can identify him from these videos, and then everything will be easier." Angela said, trying to calm Booth down too.

"Yes, I know! I'm sorry." He felt as he was the plaything of that bastard. "Miller, do you mind to ask for an agent to escort Miss Montenegro to the Jeffersonian, please?"

"Of course. Please, follow me." The agent said to Angela.

"Thanks, Ange. See you later at the lab." Brennan said.

"Thanks Angela." Booth said too.

"You're welcome. Booth… try to stay calmed. Ok?"

"I'll try. Thanks Ange." And she left behind Miller.

One of the agents posted at the door entered.

"Agent Booth?"

"Yes?"

"The agent posted on the main entrance of the hospital has notified us that agent Perotta has arrived. She is waiting to speak to the doctor about agent Harmon right now." He said.

"Thank you." Booth said, and the agent returned outside the room.

"Booth… Are you ok? You seem extremely pissed off, and nervous too."

"And how do you think I should be, Bones? That son of a bitch has run away from the hospital, and if that wasn't enough he has time to send you more sarcastic messages. I'm getting tired of the games of that bastard!" He said angrily. "I'm going to speak with Perotta. You, wait here until I come back, ok?"

"Booth!" But he left without listening to her. Before head to where Perotta was, he turned to the agents in front of the box.

"Don't let her get out of that box, on any account, until I come back, ok?"

"Ok, agent Booth."

He was really anxious. He entered in a waiting room where Perotta was sitting, waiting for the doctor to tell her something about her partner.

"Booth! I didn't expect to see you out of a bed so soon!" She said surprisingly.

"Hi Perotta. We have a lot to speak about."

"Yes, I know scarcely what has happened here, but I'd appreciate a good explanation." She said tiredly, and he told her everything that had happened in the hospital with the killer and what he knew about her partner. After this, Booth wanted to know what had happened to her.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd walk on hot coals that you fell into a trap. Am I right?"

"I think so. I received a call from the headquarters, telling me that someone was called there asking for me. He said that there was a body in a room of the underground parking lot of the build close to yours. They also said that there was some message in the scene addressed to me, so I asked agent Ryan to go there with me. We found the room easily. It was something like a guard room, with a security lock, but it was wide open, so we entered it. The next second the two of us stepped inside, the door closed behind us. I'm sure there was some kind of movement sensor or other device that detected us and closed the door. I've seen something installed in the ceiling just outside the door when the agents had got us out. The experts are going to analyze it. We had no way to communicate with the outside, the cell phone was out of signal. We have waited almost three hours until two agents found us in there. They tried to open the door, but they couldn't. So we had to wait until the security guard came to open with his card… and that was fifteen minutes ago. When we finally got out of there the agents told me in short what has happened here, so here I am."

"I'm sorry for Harmon. He didn't deserve what has happened to him. He was just watching for us."

"Nobody deserves what that monster does to them. I can't believe he has escaped. How is that possible?" She said with incredulity.

"I'm sure he had planned everything. Let me put my mind in order. The killer attacks me at home when Bones leaves to the Jeffersonian with Harmon."

"We know something about this. Dr. Brennan called me from here. She suspected that there were hidden microphones at your place, and she was right. We found two microphones, one on your living room and another in your bedroom. He had to be in the surrounding area, watching to your place too, because he went in a few minutes after Dr. Brennan and Harmon left. He knew you'd be sleeping. The Jeffersonian asked the headquarters to investigate the package he sent there to Dr. Brennan, and the carrier told us the same as with the first one: that a teenager gave them the package and asked to deliver it not before 7 pm. But, and here is where you have to give thanks to God, the carrier delivered it at 6 pm, because he hadn't any more packages to deliver and wanted to leave early. That's why we were able to find you in time. I'm sure you'd be dead if the package had been delivered later."

"He can't control absolutely everything, although he tries hard, after all!" He said.

"Yes, thank goodness…" She said in relief. "The carrier is another dead end, because they can't contact the kid. He gave to him false data, so… nothing on this side." She said.

"We also know that he seems to know the hospital very well. We know too that he has an easy access to tranquilizers, because he always has a syringe ready to use. He has access and knowledge about technology, because he has been able to configure a security door to close and lock, and he has installed microphones in my place." He said that last statement holding back the anger. "He has to have some strong link with this hospital. Karen Lindberg worked here too. All this is too much a coincidence. Don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right. I think the best we can do right now is to take both of you out of this hospital as soon as possible. You'll be safer at the Jeffersonian. I'm going to ask for a list of the hospital employees. Maybe we can find something. But there's something not tying out. How is, that this guy comes here and let the surveillance cameras record him? I don't understand. Either it doesn't matter to him or he's not as intelligent as it seems."

"Wait until we have checked all the videos. Bones and I are going to head to the lab as soon as the doctors release her. I'll call you as soon as I have something new." Booth told her. "Call me when you have news from Harmon, ok?"

"Ok." She answered.

When he arrived to Brennan's box he found that she was up, and ready to leave. And very upset with him.

"Why have you told the agents to not let me go out of the room, Booth?" She asked with annoyance.

"It's very easy. I didn't want you to go out of the room." He simply stated.

"Booth! I wasn't going anywhere, but that demonstration of your alpha male tendencies wasn't necessary at all! What's happening to you, Booth? You're acting weird since you have woken up from the coma. I know you're worried about me, but I think you're overdoing too much." She said. He stared at her with incredulity. How could he answer honestly to that question? He couldn't, so he counterattacked the last sentence.

"Overdoing? Do you think I'm overdoing this situation? I have to remember you everything that has happened tonight? Maybe you believe yourself when you say that all that has happened tonight is as simple as a killer has tried to kill me and to kidnap you, and nothing else. But the fact is that that bastard has indeed tried to kill me twice today, abduct you to do who-knows-what to you, maybe kill you. That bastard has killed Karen Lindberg because he couldn't get you. What more do you need to happen to stop being so stubborn and let me take care of you?" He sounded as upset as he was. But his words hurt her more than he thought.

"Ok, Booth. You're right." She just said.

"Bones..." He knew he had been rude with her, and wanted to apologize, but she didn't let him.

"No, Booth. It's ok. Let's go to the lab. I have a lot of work to do there." She replied dryly.

They left the hospital in an awkward silence. They called a cab a headed to the Jeffersonian with saying no word. She was hurt and he knew it. In fact she didn't bother to hide it. She knew that he'd tell about that dream when he was ready, but she was so frustrated. Time was passing and he wasn't showing any sign indicating he was going to tell something about it to her. In fact, she thought that he was just trying to let it pass, and that made her think that he didn't trust her. But she didn't know why.

When they arrived to the lab she went directly to Angela's office, without saying anything to him. He simply watched her turn away. He was between the devil and the deep blue sea. He knew she was suspecting something, and he knew too, that he couldn't hide his feelings forever. He must do something soon, because she was going to pressure him, and she wouldn't want anything but the truth. This situation scared him because he didn't know how she was going to react if he opened himself to her. He was really confused and disturbed.

Brennan went to Angela's office and found her working on the videos.

"Hi, Angela."

"Hey, Bren! I'm glad you're here!"

"Thanks..." She answered sadly.

"Sweetie, are you ok? Has something more happened?" Angela asked with concern. "No, wait, I have very good news for you. And after that, you and I are going to go somewhere we can talk."

"Ok. What do you have?" Brennan asked.

"I've watched all the sequences of the attack. It must be terrifying. But thank God you two are safe now!" Angela said with concern.

"Yeah" Brennan whispered.

"I have some very good images of the man who attacked you and Booth. I've calculated the body mass and I'm doing a research on all the videos they have given to me. If he has been captured with another camera I'll know where and when. I've sent too a copy of his face to the FBI, so they could start to work with it."

"That's great, Angela. Show me the images, please. I know him, but I don't remember where or when I've met him before." Brennan asked.

"Ok, this is our guy." Angela opened the images on the big screen and Brennan watched at them carefully, trying to remember. But nothing came to her mind. "I have no idea where I've met this guy before!" She said annoyed. "Let me think. If I've met him before he has to have something to do with me. Maybe Sweets is right and he works at the university. But on the other hand, he can get tranquilizers very easy, and he seems to know the hospital very well, so maybe he has something to do with the hospital too." She pondered. "I'll call the university for the security videos, from the last month until today. Run the body mass test on them too. If he works at the university or has something to do with it, he should appear there too."

"That's a very good idea, Bren!" Angela said.

Brennan made the call and the head of Security promised her to send the videos as soon as he could get them.

"Ok, the test is running on the hospital videos; we're waiting the university videos to do the same; so now we have some time to go to the meeting table and have a good talk." Angela told Brennan, and then grabbed her elbow and guided her. In their way to the upper floor Brennan saw Booth on her own office, sat on her couch. She thought that they both needed to have a good talk too. But she wanted to talk to Angela first. Maybe she could enlighten her with this dilemma.

"Ok, here we are. Now, speak. I know something is bothering you, and since you haven't argued with me to have this talk, I'm sure it has something to be with Booth, right?"

"I have to explain something to you. But I want you to promise me that you are not going to be upset for not telling you before." Brennan asked.

"This is getting interesting. Don't worry. I promise you, but now, talk!" Angela insisted.

"Ok. When Booth woke up from the coma he was confused. He seemed to be mixing a dream with the reality. He asked me if we were married and if I was pregnant, and something about owning a night club called The Lab." Angela didn't say anything, but her face was more than enough for Brennan to understand she was enjoying this story more than anything. "I told him that he need to get some sleep and when he woke up later he seemed to see things right again. I didn't ask him about the dream he had, because I thought that he'd told me about it when he felt better, but he has just... I think that he is just letting time pass. I'm sure he's hoping me to forget about it. In fact I had almost forgotten it, but today it came to my mind again. When Perotta arrived to the hospital this morning he went to speak to her. But when he went out of my box he told the agents posted at the door to not let me go out of there on any account. While he was with Perotta the doctor came and after check me on, he told me that I could go. When I tried to go out of the door to go to the bathroom a second to refresh myself, the agents didn't let me, and they told me why. When he came back I asked him why he had done that, and I told him that he was acting weird since he awaked from the coma and that I thought that he was overdoing the situation. Then he just related me the facts that had happened since now, in a very rude tone. He remembered me that that psychopath had tried to kill him twice today, to kidnap me, and that he had killed Karen Lindberg just because he couldn't get me. He then asked me what more had to happen to let him take care of me. I was thinking about that dream before you arrived to the hospital, and I suspect something. But you know I'm not the best interpreting people, and I want to hear your opinion before."

"Ok, let me get this right. He has a dream while he is in coma about you two being married, you being pregnant, and you two owning a night club called The Lab. Then he just doesn't say a word about it, and when you confront him with it he turns rude. I think you could just ignore the part concerning the night club. You are good analyzing things, so let me expose things in a way you could understand." Angela said, and Brennan knew that she wasn't going to like it. "First: he dreams that you both are married and you are pregnant; second: he wakes up mixing the dream with the reality; third: he doesn't tell you what he has dreamed, and that is odd, because he always tells you everything; fourth: he gets angry when you ask him about it. Now, you have everything in order. Does it make any sense to you?" Angela asked.

"I-I'm not s-sure." Brennan replied not wanting to say what she was thinking loudly.

"Well, I'll tell you what I think. But let me finish, ok?" Angela said, and Brennan nodded in a doubtful agreement. "I think he had a very real dream, and that made his feelings for you grow intensely. Don't interrupt me!" She said watching the odd expression in Brennan's face. "Don't even try to deny it. You wanted my opinion and that's exactly what you're going to get. As I was saying, the dream made his feelings for you become even more real. I'm sure he remembers every second of that dream. That's exactly why he's avoiding to tell you about it. Come on, Bren. You cannot be that blind. In fact, I'm sure you have come to the same conclusion, but you're scared of how that could change your relationship with Booth. I'm so right that I'd eat my hat." Angela said, with a big grin on her face.

"I don't know what that means." Brennan answered afraid of saying more.

"It doesn't matter. What I'm saying is that your relationship with Booth is about to change, you want it or not. I'm sure he won't be able to fight his feelings too much more time. In fact I'm sure that he has still done or said nothing because of this big mess. Sweetie... I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to promise me that you'll answer nothing but the truth." In that moment Booth appeared there, but only Angela could see him. Brennan didn't notice him, and he let them go on with their talk, not wanting to interrupt.

"Ange..."

"Sweetie, promise me. I can't help you if you don't open to yourself. You are always demanding everyone to tell you the truth, but you are forgetting the most important person to do the same, yourself."

"I know what you're going to ask me." Brennan said.

"I'm sure you do." Angela said looking discretely to Booth. He understood her and kept quiet.

Brennan took a deep breath before answer. "Ok, Ange, as you want. I don't know the answer. You want to how I feel about Booth, and the answer is just I don't know. I'm just... confused."

"That's a step. At least you haven't told me "we're just partners" anymore. How have you felt these days? I mean, when you found him lying on his flat roof, or when you put yourself in front of the gun to save him. What did you feel in these situations?" Booth was listening carefully, and his face encouraged Angela to go on.

"When I was at his place I was sure that something had happened to him. I-I felt as if I c-couldn't breathe, and my b-brain was just off. I c-can't explain it b-better, Ange. It w-was one the worst m-moments in my l-life." She was stammering now. She was doing a big effort to be honest with Angela, but even more to be honest with herself.

"How did you feel when the Gravedigger took him?"

"W-Why are you r-remembering all these things to me, Angela? You were with m-me! You k-know it pretty g-good!" She answered angrily.

"You're reaction proofs that I'm right. You get angry when I confront you with situations that could have killed him, and I'm just remembering them."

"I hate Psychology, Ange..." Booth smiled lightly at that statement, but remained in silence.

"I know. I'm gonna tell you exactly, plain and clear, what I think about all this." Brennan bowed her head, and Angela went on. "You two" she started and looked directly to Booth "are absolutely in love with each other. And you're scared because he's starting to show his true feelings to you. Believe me, I'm right." She said turning to look at Brennan again, who was still looking at the table. "You're scared because you have detected some changes in him that tell you what's going on, but you don't know how to interpret these signs. But... I'm here to help you. For example... he has turned even more overprotective, right?"

"Yes, a lot more." Brennan

"I knew it!" Angela exclaimed. "I know you have hidden your feelings for him in the deepest of your heart, but what would you do if he knew exactly how do you feel for him?"

"Ange... I-I don't k-know. I-I..." She was speechless again.

"Well, although I'd love to stay here to see it by myself I'm gonna be a good girl and leave you two some privacy to discuss the details of this... thing." Angela said. Brennan saw her looking to somewhere behind her, and she shivered in absolute terror.

"W-What are y-you t-talking a-about?" She said stammering again. When she turned around she saw him, a few steps behind and looking directly to her eyes. Her heart threatened to stop, and when she wanted to react, Angela had stood up and was walking toward him.

"Good luck!" Angela told Booth, before leaving them alone.

To be continued...

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What do you think about it???? Review, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	10. Of brains and hearts

Hi everybody again,

Here is the tenth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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OF BRAINS AND HEARTS...

She wanted to kill Angela. She wanted to get into the deepest hole she could find and hide there forever. She hated to feel this way, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to have this conversation with him, because she knew for sure that nothing would be the same. The change to something new with him was what scared her the most. She was very comfortable with this situation. Well, if she had to be honest with herself, not very comfortable. Ok, she admitted to herself, she wanted this to happen, some day, yes, but, it has to be now? She needed time to process everything in her brain, and that was just what she hadn't: time. She was surely going to kill Angela after this.

Booth knew this was going to be difficult for her. He didn't know this was going to happen this way. He couldn't know that she and Angela were talking about him in that very moment. He had searched her around the lab, and when he found them there he just wanted to apologize for his previous behavior, and to tell her to get some sleep, because she couldn't get more than a few hours, and in a chair. She must be exhausted after all had happened. And when he was just going to say something, he heard Angela talking about the relationship with him… and he just stood still. Only Angela could see him, and she gave him a glance that meant _wait there and don't dare to move_. He kept quiet listening to them. When Bones told Angela how she had felt while he was unconscious on the flat roof, he had goose bumps. He couldn't watch her face, but when Angela asked her about the Gravedigger, all her body jumped in uneasiness. Angela was right. Her reaction told more the truth than what she wanted. When he heard Angela tell her that they were in love, almost telling directly to him, he felt like a child surprised playing a prank. But at the same time he felt as if a big weight had been taken off his mind. This was surprising, because he had spent the last years denying his true feelings for her to everyone, even to himself. But now, listening to Angela telling Bones those things he thought that it could be a good idea to deal with this once and for all. He saw her turning around and look directly to him with absolute terror in her eyes, even more than when they were at the hospital with the killer, and he changed his mind; maybe the idea wasn't so good, after all. He kept looking at her when Angela wished him good luck and left.

"Hey" He said, approaching slowly to her. He knew she was trying to put her brain on, but maybe it could be easier if she hadn't time to think.

"How m-much t-time…" She began, but she knew very well that he had listened too much. It would be useless to try to deny everything, but she couldn't say anything more coherent.

"Bones… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop at you. I just wanted to apologize and tell you should get some sleep." He said sincerely. But she was too confused in that moment to get a word out.

"I-I n-need… I-I c-can't… n-now…" She babbled while turning around, trying to walk out of there. She wasn't used to deal with these kind of situations, and didn't know what to do. So she just tried to run away. But Booth didn't let her. He grabbed her elbow and gently made her stop and turn around again. They were just a few inches of one another. She was absolutely blocked, as he has never seen her before. Well, that was logical after all. She had never dealt with any situation like this in her life. This was… she didn't know.

"Temperance…" He said, trying to calm her down a little. He bowed his head trying to have a better look of her eyes. She took a step backward.

"I-I h-have wo-work to d-do r-right now." She just said doubtlessly.

He had slid his hand from her elbow to her hand. She was shaking. "Hey, why are you so frightened? It's just me!" He said, trying to calm her down.

"That's just the problem, b-because it's just y-you!" She said, with fear in her voice. "I-I need t-to go." She said trying to release her from him. But he wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"No, wait, please!" He said, squeezing her hand gently. He needed to get to her, because she was trying to run and hide herself in a shell. "Please…" He said, watching her internal fight. She didn't know either to stay or to run as fast as she could. Couldn't he see that she wasn't ready for this? She thought. "We need to talk." He said almost whispering.

But she was too much blocked. She needed to go out of there right now. She needed time to think, because this was going to be a big change in her life, although she had been wishing this to happen for some time. She didn't believe in the happy ending, the we-are-gonna-be-together-forever, nor in love as Booth or Angela did. Every one that she had allowed to enter in her heart had left her, sooner or later. Her parents, her brother, her boyfriends... Now Booth wanted something more and she didn't know whether she could give what he needed or not. And what would happen if she couldn't? He'd leave? She couldn't lose him. For the first time in her life, the simple thought of lose someone left her breathless. She had had to deal with these feelings in these days, and she knew she couldn't go on without him. It would be too much for her.

"Bones…"

"I c-can't do t-this now, Booth. Please, let m-me go." She said releasing her hand from his. He tried to catch it again, holding his hand out toward hers. But this time she was faster than him and was walking quickly, almost running, through the upper platform to the stairs. Booth couldn't do anything to stop her. He could just watch her leave. He remained still a few seconds, disappointed and desperate, not knowing what to do now. Definitely, this hadn't been a good idea. But when he arrived there and heard Bones and Angela talking about him, he couldn't help to stand still. And then Angela saw him there. In that moment he thought this could work, because she was opening herself to Angela, but when Angela left, he wasn't so sure that this was going to work. And then she left, and his worst thoughts proved right. Her refusal to talk about that made him think that maybe she didn't feel the same way he felt for her. He sat heavily on a chair, feeling absolutely defeated. What could he do now? He couldn't go home, and he didn't want to stay there. He ruled that last thought out of his mind and decided to stay just there, in that chair, for the moment. Maybe later he could have the courage to talk to Angela. Maybe she could help him. He waited there a few minutes more, just to breathe. Then he stood up and walked down again, not knowing neither where to go nor what to do.

Brennan had sat on the stairs, out of everyone sight. She needed to be alone for a while, and put her thoughts in order. This was too much in so short period of time, too many emotions to deal with. First the case, that killer obsessed with her, who was trying to get her and kill Booth. And now this. She had made a big effort to open herself to Angela, admitting to her and to herself that she had some kind of feelings for Booth. How could she have done this to her? She'd deal with Angela later, but now she had a lot to think about.

Maybe Angela was right, but she didn't want to risk her relationship with Booth on any account. She believed that if they became romantically involved their relationship was doomed to fail, and they'd broke off, as always had happened to her with every romantic relationship she had had. That's why she always needed to stay in control of her feelings. It had become very easy to her, but somehow she couldn't do it with Booth, and she didn't know why. It bothered her too much. Maybe what she had to do is to stay away from him for a while. This way she could regain control again over her feelings, and he could do the same, and everything would be normal again.

Everyone was so immersed in the case that they arrived very early to the lab, because it was just 7 am, and everyone was already working. She spent the next two hours talking with Cam, Hodgins and Clark. She went to Cam's office and explained everything that had happened at the hospital, and that Angela had the videos of the attack and was searching for the man in all the other videos. Cam was stunned, she said nothing but just two questions: where was Booth, and where were they going to be. She knew the lab couldn't be as comfortable as their homes, but undoubtedly it was the safest place to stay, with the exception of the Hoover building. But the lab was far more comfortable than the FBI Headquarters. Brennan answered that she didn't know, but for the moment they would be at the lab.

Then she went to speak with Hodgins and Clark. They told her there was nothing relevant on the victim's clothes, just evidences that proved that the victim worked at the hospital, but nothing more. It was just another dead end. The samples of the crime scene were at the mass spectrograph to identify the components, and maybe to find something useful. They had just samples of blood and the lubricant, but they must try. She summarized what had happened at the hospital, and that the FBI forensics were going to send them samples from there. She asked Hodgins to call her as soon as he had something new. She asked Clark too, to work side by side with Hodgins, since they had nothing to do with the body of Karen Lindberg. They already knew the cause of death and every clue from her had been analyzed. The Jeffersonian could return the body to the family to bury her.

While Brennan was talking to Cam, Booth arrived to Angela's office. He didn't want to go to Bones' because she could be there. If she wanted some space he could give that to her, although it could hurt him. When he entered in Angela's office she knew that something had gone wrong.

"What had happened? You're face is so long that it's almost touching the floor."

"She ran." He simply said.

"She what?" She asked with incredulity.

"She frightened and ran away. She didn't let me say anything."

"Oh, God. Where is she now?" Angela asked, concerned.

"I have no idea. I suppose she's in her office, but, I don't know." He sounded as deflated as he was.

"Booth, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to force you two to do anything. You just appeared in that exact moment, and she was just being so honest, that I didn't want her to stop talking. I'm really sorry." She said sincerely.

"It's not your fault, Angela. I should have said something for her to notice I was there."

"No, of course is my fault, and I'm sure she'll be mad at me right now."

"Probably."

"But for your face, she's even madder at you."

"Don't doubt that." Booth said sadly. Angela wanted to speak with him too. She was right, she knew that, but somehow she needed to hear it from him.

"Booth, apart from that, can I make you a question?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, it's not just a question. She told me something about a dream you had when you were in coma. She explained to me something about you making questions about you two being married, she being pregnant, and other things. She's hurt because you haven't told her anything about that dream, and she doesn't know why. She thinks that you don't trust in her." Booth was stunned at that statement. How could Bones think that he didn't trust in her? He trusted in her with his own life. "But I know she's wrong."

"Of course she's wrong!" Booth said with surprise. "How can she…?"

"That's clear. But the question is, why is she wrong? I told her that the reason why you hadn't told her anything about that dream was because the best part of your dream were the feelings you dreamed. I'm sure that dream was very real, and there you hadn't to hide them. I'm sure they have become stronger after that dream than ever. And don't try to fool me, honey. Don't bother to deny that you didn't feel anything for her before. It was plain as the nose on your face." Angela asked inquisitively. Booth took a few seconds to answer to that. One thing was to know something and another was to say it out loud. But, what else could he do?

"Yes, you're right." He said bowing his head. At least he had admitted to someone else. Now he felt really relieved.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed.

"Angela, you should be a psychologist. You're far better reading people than Sweets."

"Thank you. Coming from you is too much a compliment."

"Ange, I don't what to do." He said worried. "She just ran away when you left. I admit that you were right about me, but I'm not sure you were right about her. I don't think she feels the same way as me. She didn't even want to listen to me. She was… she was terrified! I've never seen her like this before. And what is worse, among the few things she said, she told me that she was frightened because of me."

"I see. But I think you're wrong. She is scared to death because the nature of your relationship is about to change. She has detected changes in your behavior that tell her that something is about to happen. I'm sure I know exactly why she has run. But what surprises me a lot is you not knowing it. You know her even better than me."

"Not in these kind of situations. We have always been just partners and friends, nothing else."

"Yes, I know that very well. If you two had listened to me before…" She said ironically. "What I'm trying to tell you is that she needs you, Booth, more than she could admit even to herself, and more than she has ever needed you. You listened to her when she told me how she felt when she found you lying on the floor. You heard her how she told me it, she was stammering. I've just heard her stammering once before, and she was explaining to me how the El Salvador police abducted and threatened during several days to kill her and throw her body into a communal grave just as they had done with a lot of people before, and that nobody would ever find her nor would know what had happened to her. That was the only time I've heard her stammering.

"She has never talked to me about that."

"Well, it was ages ago. I'm sure you remember the case with the Mara Muerte… she kicked the ass of one of its heads at the Hoover."

"Yes, I remember that very well." Booth said. He indeed remembered how it ended.

"When I told her off for doing such a thing and put her own life on risk she told me why she had done that to him. I also remember you being late at the funeral." She said, with a little smile on her face.

"Yes, she was mad at me. But… do you want to know why I was late? Believe me, I couldn't forget about it." Angela just nodded in agreement. "After that public humiliation that son of a bitch put a prize on her head. So I waited for him to appear in a place where he used to be. I put the gun in his mouth and told him that I'd kill him if something happened to her. I guess I made myself very clear, because he just agreed. He was just a piece of shit."

"Oh, my God!" She said grinning. "I'm sure she wouldn't have been that mad at you if you had explained that to her."

"No, she would. You can be sure of that." He answered smiling a little too.

"Yes, you're right!" She said. Then she turned serious again. "But to get back to what we were talking, you didn't see her face today, Booth. She couldn't bear something bad happening to you. That thought just makes her sick."

"When you asked her about the Gravedigger I couldn't see her face, but her body stiffened and she jumped disturbed. She got very angry with you." He said. "I thought that you were right when you told her that her reaction told more the truth than her words. But, then she told me all that, and, Angela, she was truly scared. More than that, it was as if her brain had stopped by the fear. I can't deal with her if she's scared of me."

"Haven't you been listening to me, Booth? She's not scared of you. She couldn't be scared of you. She's scared because she sees the possibility to lose you."

"But that doesn't make any sense. That's just the opposite of what I want. How could I try to be with her not being with her?" He said, but just after saying that everything clicked in his mind. "Wait… I think I understand you. How could I be so blind? She thinks that if we get together she's gonna lose me, because she thinks that everyone she has loved, had left her. That's what she thinks. Oh, my God!"

"Exactly! That's just what she's thinking. That's exactly why she has run away from you, and that's exactly why it's going to be hard for you to get to her." She stated.

"Yeah, you're right!"

"Booth, I bet she's gonna concentrate in her work as if nothing else exists, not even you, nor me, nor anything else. Just work. Don't let her get exhausted. She's going to work, and work, and work. She'll forget even to eat or sleep."

"I know that. In fact, when I found you both up there, I just wanted to tell her to get some sleep, because she had had just a few hours in an uncomfortable chair at the hospital. She must be exhausted right now." He said. "I think I should go and find her."

"Yes, but before, I have good news for you. I'm sure she hasn't told you anything about the case, right?"

"No, she hasn't. It'll be better if you told me." He said, a little more relaxed now. Then Angela explained what she had got through the videos: the attack, the killer's face, and what tests was she going to run. She told him too about Brennan's idea of search for the killer in the university videos. He then asked her to take a look at the electronic devices the killer had installed: the one for lock the door, and the microphones.

"I'll call you as soon as I have any result, ok?" She said.

"Ok." He said, turning around to leave her office. "Oh, Angela, thank you!"

"For what? I've just messed things too much between you two."

"Don't blame yourself. Maybe we can still make sense of all this."

"Good luck, again. I guess you'll need it this time."

"Me too." He said, and left. He headed to Brennan's office, but when he arrived she wasn't there. He thought about what Angela had told him about her working too much. She was absolutely right. He was going to wait her for a while, but if she didn't come in a reasonable period of time he'd go and grab her to her couch and make her sleep a little. And after that they could have a very good talk.

An hour later Booth was speaking with Perotta by phone in Brennan office, but she hadn't arrived yet. Perotta was telling him that Harmon was stable and awake. Booth was glad to hear that. Harmon was a good man and a good agent. Then she told him that every evidence from the hospital, from his own apartment and from the parking was going to be sent to the Jeffersonian to be analyzed.

When he was saying goodbye to Perotta and hanging the phone Brennan came back to her office. He said nothing, just stared at her. Her face showed evident signs of exhaustion: she had dark rings under her eyes and her face was whiter than it used to be, and she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. But she just blinked twice and passed by his side to sit on her chair. She didn't expect to find him there, but however, where was he going to be? He watched her focus on her computer and some papers that Hodgins had given to her. She was trying to concentrate on the work, but it was very difficult with Booth staring at her that way. Maybe it'd be better to go to talk to Angela instead. So, she stood up again and took a few steps toward the door, but Booth blocked it before she could leave. She felt the anger rising inside her.

"Get away from the door, Booth!" She said in a warning voice.

"I have a déjà vu right now. This situation seems familiar to me." He answered trying to play the situation down a little. But she wasn't in the mood for that now and didn't understand.

"Let me go, now! I have work to do!" She said not hiding the anger.

"No, what you need to do is get some sleep. You're exhausted. You've slept a few hours in an uncomfortable chair this night. If you don't want me here with you I can wander somewhere else, but you're going to lie on your couch right now!" He replied with the same tone as hers. Two can play the same game, he thought. She stood still when she heard him telling her that she didn't want him there. "Bones…" he changed to a softer voice and took a step forward "I just want you to be ok. If you want to focus on the work, that's fine with me, but you'll be more useful if you take some rest. Let your squints do their job."

"They are not my squints!" She replied.

"It was just a figure of speech. Right now everyone here is working hard to help you. They didn't want anything happening to you, neither do I!"

"I know that, but that doesn't mean that you could lock me in my office!" She replied stubbornly.

"Bones, I'm not going to lock you anywhere. You can do whatever you want. But please, do as I say, just for once. I can understand that you don't want me here. That won't be a problem. But rest a few hours in your office. I make myself sure that anyone disturbs you unless it's something important, ok?" He said. Now she was feeling bad for him. He was thinking that she didn't want him around her, and that wasn't true. She just needed time to put her mind in order. But he was right in something. She hadn't notice it, but now that he had told her, she was indeed exhausted. The effect of the dopamine was gone. She sat heavily on the couch and closed her eyes a second.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Booth. You can stay here, you know that." She said in a soft voice now.

"Well, it didn't seem that to me a while ago." He answered sitting in the armchair next to the couch. But she didn't answer to that, because she didn't know what to say. "Lie down for a while."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you think that I don't want you around me. I was just…" She began.

"Bones, don't worry for this now. Just try to sleep, ok?" He said. But she knew that he was upset. She knew very well that he needed to talk, and now that she had time to think about it, it could be a good moment. Now they were alone, and maybe later they wouldn't have time.

"No, I'm ok. Booth…" she took a breath and went on "I'm sorry." She kept silent a few seconds again.

"For what?" He asked.

"For leaving you there the way I did. I think that led you to think that I don't want your company, but that's not true, and I'm sorry for that."

"Bones…" He started, but she didn't let him interrupt her.

"No, let me finish." She said, and he let her go on. "I'm sorry too if I did or said something that led you to think about me in another way."

"What are you talking about?" He said, suspecting what she was going to say.

"What I'm trying to say is, that I think you are feeling something different about me. But I don't want anything to change between us." She tried to sound convincing, but he knew her better than she thought, and knew she was lying. She was trying to hide herself behind a shield of insensitivity, but he wasn't willing to let her do it.

"Bones, this is bullshit. Not even you could believe that!" He said.

"But that's the truth!" She replied. She didn't expect him to say that.

"I think you've forgotten who you're talking with. I know you, remember? I already told you that maybe you could fool someone else, even yourself, but you can't lie to me."

"I'm not lying, Booth! I really don't want anything to change between us."

"Ok, look at me and now you tell me what you've told Angela before. Explain to me how you felt when you found me lying on the floor and you thought I was dead!"

"What the Hell is happening to all of you today? Why everybody insists in what I felt in those situations?" She was almost yelling.

"Because in that kind of situations people let their true feelings come to light. Because in that kind of situations hardly anyone is capable of remain in a shell. And you're not a robot!" He almost yelled too.

"You can't know how I feel about anything only watching my reactions in dangerous situations!" She answered.

"Bones, you told Angela, babbling, how you felt when you found me in the flat roof. Babbling! I've never heard you babbling before!"

"I'm sorry if my manner of speaking it's not to your liking, Booth. I was worried about you! How did you want me to react???" Now she was yelling.

"You're not following me, Bones!"

"I don't think so! In fact, I thing I understand you pretty well! You have simply misunderstood my reactions, because you want to see something in them that is not there. I'm sorry, but I just can't give you what you want from me!" Now she had to lie to him, but it was the only way to make him go away from her.

"I'm not buying that! And I'm gonna tell you exactly why I don't believe you! Do you want to hear it out loud?" He was angry, and didn't bother to hide it. "You're scared because almost everyone that meant something to you has left you, one time or another. But guess what? I'm not going anywhere. You're frightened without a good reason to be." He was going to go on, but she interrupted him.

"Without a good reason? Maybe my reasons are not good enough for you, but that doesn't turn them to bad reasons. And how you dare to tell me that? I know pretty well who has left me before, I don't need you to remember it, thank you!" She shouted with desperation. She closed her eyes, trying hard not to let the tears fall from her eyes. But she couldn't help it.

"Do you wanna know why I didn't tell you anything about what I've dreamed? Just because of this. How do I suppose to raise this with you? For the first time, I couldn't go and talk to you about something. Do you have an idea how that made me feel? What could I do? I needed to do something, but I couldn't rely on you to talk about it!"

"I-I don't k-know!" She just said. She stood up from the couch and turn around it. She leant on the wall trying to regain some self-control. Her brain was becoming water. Why everything had to be so complicated? She thought. "I just want everything to be as always between us, why this is so complicate for you to understand?"

"Because is not enough for me anymore!"

"And what about what I need? You're being selfish now! You think that what you feel is enough to make everything change, but it's not. I'm part of this relationship too, and I don't want it to change now!"

"Why? Why exactly don't you want it to change?" He asked standing up too. He stopped a mere inches of her.

"B-because... I-I don't..."

"You're babbling again, Bones!" He said leaning even closer to her. "I'm going to make it very easy for you!" He put his arms on the wall on each side of her, blocking every way out of him. "Look at me in the eye and tell me that you feel absolutely nothing for me! I can deal with it, but try to say the truth this time!" He was so close to her that she could feel his breathing on her own. Now she couldn't think rationally. "Stop trying to think with your brain, it's useless in these situations. Maybe you can try with another organ more appropriated for this time."

She didn't know what to do. This was Booth, for God's sake. If it has been anyone else sure he'd be picking his balls from the floor. But this was Booth, her Booth. She was blocked again and he knew it very well. He let her some space to breathe, more to himself than to her. That proximity was intoxicating. He hardly could keep his self-control and not kiss her right now.

She recovered a little too, and found some hidden courage to reply, stubbornly.

"You think you know a lot about my feelings, but you don't say anything about yours. How can you demand me to tell you how I feel if you don't say anything about how you feel?" This question made him look at her with incredulity.

"I'm sorry. I think you were here for the last ten minutes, but maybe I was speaking with someone else!" He replied ironically.

"You're being sarcastic."

"Have you notice it?" He said. He blocked her on the wall again with his arms. "Don't you know how I feel? Really? Ok. Let me tell you, plain and clear, how I feel! I love you, ok? I LOVE YOU, and I can't help doing it. Although I could do something to stop loving you, I wouldn't do such a thing. If you don't feel anything about me, let me doubt that, I can deal with it. If you don't love me I-I... I really can accept that even it could hurt me a lot. But I don't want to deal with you denying your feelings for me, just because you're too scared to accept them in front of me. I've already told you, that I don't count on going anywhere. I love my son, I love my job and I love YOU, and all that turns out to be here. So, why I should go anywhere else having here everything I love?"

Now she was truly blocked. She didn't expect him telling her that. He loved her. He had told her that he loved her. She couldn't believe what she had heard. What can she do now? She couldn't help to raise her eyes and look at him too. She was feeling her walls trembling down and he saw it in her eyes. After a few seconds of mutual staring, he closed his eyes and leant his head since their foreheads were together.

"Bones, I can't promise you I'll be with you forever." He said in a very soft voice now. She shivered and closed her eyes too, letting his aura embrace her.

"I-I know t-that's impossible. We're gonna die someday." It took a great effort to her to say that sentence. He opened his eyes with the sound of her voice.

"But what I can promise you is that I'm not going to leave you on purpose." He said. "I want to be with you. I can say it louder, but not clearer." He was almost whispering on her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You know t-that what you're feeling right n-now it's possibly due to the d-dopamine that the doctors gave you at the hospital? Recent s-studies have shown that t-that substance is w-what m-makes us feel romantic love." She needed to regain some more control, and that was her way to do it. "Your g-glands in your brain are secreting phenylethylamine and that makes your brain..." She couldn't finish because Booth was kissing her. She stayed still just a second and then returned the kiss instinctively. When he felt she kissing back he held her face with his two hands and deepened the kiss. The taste of their lips, their tongues fighting together... it was overwhelming. Her hands came one on his chest and the other on his neck. Every cell of their bodies was now radiating energy, like a hurricane that storms right after a deep calm. Their calm had been so long that now they felt as if they could switch on every light of the city. He felt her still shivering, but she was relaxing second by second. Then they broke the kiss, their eyes still closed, remembering the taste of the other.

"I've told you to turn off your brain…" He said breathless. And then he kissed her again, and now even more passionate than before, if it could be possible. He put his arms around her back and held her very tight. And her arms travelled through his waist, searching by instinct for even more contact with his body. But (what a hated word) they had to stop. Someone could come to her office every moment. So he moved slowly away, and went regaining control over his own bit by bit.

"You should rest a little..." He said almost whispering, opening his eyes a looking at her. She opened her eyes too.

"Do you think I could sleep after this?"

To be continued...

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Uffffff........... how difficult was to write this... I think I need a break!!

Reviews, please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	11. Of arms and hearts

Hi everybody again,

Here is the eleventh chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

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OF ARMS AND HEARTS...

Booth managed to make her lie on her couch for a few hours, although she was reluctant to do it. He didn't really want to leave her now, but he must do it. He wouldn't be able to stop if things went further. He knew that very, very well. And, besides, she was really exhausted. But when he insisted in making her rest she just said that she had work to do. She was a little rough, and he wasn't sure if that was because she wanted something more or she was just trying to hide something from him.

But she finally lied on her couch facing its back. Booth had just thought that she had fallen asleep, and had left her office to let her rest properly. But she wasn't sleeping. She just needed to think, and to think alone. She was so stunned by what had just happened that some time had to pass before she could focus on her thoughts again. The taste of his lips was still on hers, messing her tidy mind and making her skin turn goose bumps.

When she heard him leave her office she turned to lie on her back, and just kept staring at the ceiling. She couldn't get the _"I love you"_ out of her head. She couldn't believe he had said that to her. It would be nice, yes, but being together wasn't a good idea. When she was able to think rationally again, and she was aware of what had really happened, she got angry with herself for not being able to see it coming. And what's more, she wasn't able to react to stop him. But, being honest with herself for just a moment, she had wanted this to happen long ago. She had really, really wanted it. But that wasn't the point, because they just couldn't be together that way. It was too dangerous. He had drawn a line between them. In fact, her logic told her that he was right when he spoke about that line. That line, or whatever he wanted to put between them, was there to protect both of them of being used against the other from whoever up to no good, and to make them keep objective no matter what could happen. And after his faked death she had built one solid stone wall between them. It wasn't as if it couldn't be nice being together, and sure it wasn't as if she couldn't do her job and have a relationship at the same time. She could compartmentalize very well but since the surgery she had seen her ability diminished drastically as far as Booth was concerned. She was beginning to understand that maybe, just maybe, she was feeling something different for him. Somehow, her so solid, reinforced-concrete-built-and-stone wall was cracking, and that scared the Hell out of her. She needed to do something about. She wasn't going to let herself go just because it seemed a beautiful thing. She was a practical woman, and she thought that to succumb to something as irrational as that feeling people called love was unproductive and useless. She could be more objective in her life and in her job not allowing it to guide her.

But Booth was right on one thing: she was exhausted, and she fell asleep a few minutes after all that thinking.

Booth headed to the upper platform just to be alone. He was feeling like a teenager. That woman had the power to put him over the edge. She was so bullheaded, so stubborn, so obstinate, that he just didn't know whether kill her or kiss her. He let himself to smile at that thought. The memory of her lips, so soft, so brave… he needed time to calm himself down a little, before facing someone else. He knew too that they should talk again sooner or later. Maybe it'd be easier now, he thought.

After an hour or so Booth came down again and stood at her door, not daring to open it. He was just watching her sleep when Angela came looking for them.

"Hey"

"Hi Ange."

"Are you ok, Booth?" She saw an odd expression on his face.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just remembering all that had happened today. But I'm ok."

"I have something you both need to see."

"She's asleep. Do you want me to wake her up?"

"No, it's not necessary. It's just the first results on the hospital videos. I have some new images where our guy appears, but there's just very few of them, and I'm not sure if they will be helpful at all, but…"

"Ok, let her rest a little more. Maybe I can help you with those images."

"Ok, let's go to my office." They headed to her office in silence. Angela was waiting patiently for him to tell her what had happened, but he remained in silence. When they were entering her office she couldn't wait more.

"Well, are you going to tell me how was your talk with her or not?"

"I'm not sure if I want to talk about it right now…" He said, blushing a little. But Angela was just as good reading people as he was, even better when love was in the air.

"Booth…" She said, as a mother could say to her child when he has done something wrong.

"Ange, I just… I don't know… how to explain it to you…" He replied a little frustrated. This other woman was inquisitive.

"Just spill it out!"

"We argued… as usual these days, s-she was just being so stubborn that…"

"You told her!" She said, with a big grin on her face.

"What?" He couldn't believe this woman… Angela was reading him as he was an open book.

"Come on Booth! Don't try to deny the evident!" She replied. She was enjoying this, that was for sure. He turned around for a moment, trying to decide to say it or not. But he thought it was pointless to try to lie to her. Sooner or later she was going to know everything.

"Ok, yes, I've told her I love her, happy?"

"What more?"

"More?"

"Of course! When you tell someone you love that someone, you expect something in return… What did she say?"

"Nothing. She's just scared, as you said. Before anything happened she told me that she didn't want anything to change between us, but she didn't tell me why. In fact, now I'm thinking about it, maybe I didn't give her a chance to tell me…"

"Wow, wow, wow, Booth!!!" She was about to start jumping.

"What? I didn't tell you anything yet and you're going apes!"

"Anything yet? So there's more… go on, please!!!" She was sure what Booth was going to tell her, and was really excited about it.

"Ange…"

"Ok… just let me guess!"

"I already know what you're going to ask me… do you know you're worse than a teenager?"

"Well… what's the answer so?" She asked impatiently.

"Yes, I've done it."

"What exactly have you done? Tell it! I need to hear it!"

"Ange…"

"Just tell it now!"

"Oh… God… Ok" He said resigned "I've kissed her…" He couldn't go on, because Angela hugged him, wagging in excitement.

"Angela!, please, let me breathe!" He said.

"Oh, sorry!" She said, letting him free again. "I'm just sooooo happy for you guys!"

"Wait!" He said, trying to calm her down a little. "We still have to talk about this. I don't know how she's going to react when she awakes. She knows how I feel about her, but she hasn't told me anything about how she feels yet... I don't want to start shouting about it..."

"Well, the worst that could happen would be her denying her feelings for you…"

"Ange… don't jump to hasty conclusions…" He said in a doubtful voice.

"I'm not doing such a thing… I know what I'm talking about. Don't forget that being outside of your minds I have a better view of the whole situation, and I can be more objective than you two… But of course, she won't agree with me, because she'll tell me she can extract her feelings of the equation and be as objective as me."

"I'm sure those are literally her words…" They both smiled at that statement. "I've thought that too. I know her, and I know that she's not a woman who likes to be pressured when you talk about her feelings."

"You're right. She just doesn't understand what she's feeling, and even less, why she's feeling the way she does. That is what scares her the most. She's all brain, and there's where you have a lot of work to do, she needs to learn how to work with her heart."

"Well, let's wait until she awakes. It's useless to jump to conclusions before to talk to her. So… and changing the subject… show me what you've found." He said.

"Yes, you're right." She then played the first sequence where the murderer appeared. "Ok. This was recorded at 3:00 am on the hall. We see our guy talking with the receptionist. Then he heads to your room. The cameras recorded all his way to there. He talks by his phone almost all the way." Booth was getting anxious seeing the unworried expression on his face. This was the sequence where he called Brennan the first time. About a minute later another sequence appeared. "Here we have agent Harmon. He was walking through the corridor, I suppose to keep himself awake. Here he turns the corner. A few steps later that bastard attacks him from behind. He didn't have a chance to defend himself." She said, as they watched how the killer injected all the content of the syringe in his neck and then Harmon fell unconscious. "He drags him through the corridor to the wardrobe and returns to your room. But you two aren't already there."

"Watching these sequences I see things clearer now. We ran away just when he attacked Harmon round the corner. That was why he wasn't there."

"Yes, exactly." Another sequence was playing now. "Now we have the attack to you. He goes downstairs two minutes after you both did. Look at that..." She said with fear in her voice. voice. "Here you knocks the first man out with the door, and when Brennan is picking the phone he opens the stairs door and catches her," a few moments in silence, just watching the screen "he shoots at you and she hits him, she puts between you and him," Booth felt his pulse go faster in this part "and then the other agents appear and he runs away through the stairs. He goes two floors down, and then enters a room. There's nothing more after that about him. Just the agents searching the building."

"Haven't you found any images of that man before today in the videos?" Booth asked.

"No, nothing really clear. I have a few images of possible matches, but I can't be sure if anyone of these men is him. I have paid special attention to the places in the hospital they were, but there's nothing unusual. I'm running the test on the university videos now, but I haven't any results about them yet. I've sent his face to the FBI, and they are searching in all of your databases for him. Maybe we're lucky."

"I hope so." In that moment Booth's phone rang.

"Booth"

"Booth, it's Perotta."

"Hey, how is Harmon doing?"

"Very well. He's already awake. But I'm not calling you because of that. We have two more bodies, and this isn't going to be pleasant, especially for you and Dr. Brennan."

"It's never pleasant to find a body, Perotta!"

"I know, but our guy has attacked again tonight."

"Are you sure has been him?" At that statement Angela raised her head and looked at him.

"Yes, absolutely. There was another message in the crime scene."

"Oh, God... I see... what is this son of a bitch telling her this time?" Booth asked half ironic half angry. Angela was now just staring at him impatiently.

"No, the message is not for her... it's for you." An awkward silence. "Booth... I know you're not full recovered, but this is getting worse. You shouldn't be involved in this case, but it's going to be inevitable..."

"Perotta... don't run about the bush! What has happened? And what does that message said?" He interrupted her impatiently.

"I've arrived here fifteen minutes ago. The agents have found two victims, male and female, in a house with two floors. The male was found in the lower floor, in the hall in front of the door. He has a big knock on the head that it's the probable cause of death. His head is... well, just… crushed. The female was found in a bedroom upstairs. Booth... she was... she was..."

"Perotta..." Booth insisted. Perotta took a big breath before going on.

"She was beaten and raped brutally, and stabbed to death, multiples times. Booth... this woman... this bastard made sure she suffered every minute... he showed no mercy at all..."

"Ok, I get it!" Booth knew this had to be very, very harsh. Perotta was an experienced agent, and difficult for anything to affect her this way. But she was really worried. "What about the message?" He asked.

"This time is just a paper note. He wrote it after killing them. It's addressed to you. Do you want me to read it to you now? I don't…"

"Please!" He replied impatiently.

"Ok. It says _"To my annoying Agent Booth: I'm going to kill you slowly, and I'm going to enjoy every second watching you suffering in my hands. And after that, nothing and no-one will be able to stop me to be with her. I let you imagine all the things we are going to do together without your irritating presence. By the way, I want to inform you that I'm going to go on searching for poor substitutes of her, until she sees sense and comes with me. It's not the same, but it soothes me, so... while I can't be with her, I'm going to go on with this. It's part of my torture for you both. This way you can feel guilty for let these women suffer and die, because it will be entirely your fault. Insincerely yours"_ dots, and nothing more." Perotta ended. Booth felt the anger boiling in his veins, but was speechless. Perotta was right, this was getting worse every minute. Angela saw how Booth's face was changing as he was listening to what Perotta was telling him. "Booth? Are you ok?" Perotta asked.

"Yes, yes... s-sorry... could you please send to the Jeffersonian all the evidences to be analyzed here, including the note?" He said, trying to sound as calmer as he could.

"Of course. I'm going to call Dr. Saroyan to inform her about these new crime scene."

"Ok, thanks for calling, Perotta."

"Booth..."

"Yes...?"

"We'll catch him. You can be sure of that. Sooner or later, we'll catch him."

"Better sooner than later, don't you think?" And then he hung up on her.

"Booth... what's happening?" Angela asked with impatience.

He just remained in silence a few seconds watching the image on the screen. It was stopped on one of the killer's face. "This man... if I have to call him man... has killed a couple today. I suppose he was angry because he couldn't get Bones, and he entered in a house, knocked the man, and then he beat, raped and stabbed the woman." Angela was holding her breathe hearing him speak. "But that's not all..." He took a deep breath before going on. "He has left a note for me, this time. It says that he'll kill me and he'll go on killing more people until he gets Bones... that's in short..."

"Oh my God, Booth..."

"Yeah... but... let's wait until Perotta sends all the evidences here for analyze... I... Do you mind if I left you finish with the tests? Just call me when you have the results of the university videos, ok?"

"Booth... are you ok? You know if you want to talk, or if you need anything, you just have to ask, right?" Angela said to him.

"Yes, I know. Thank you Angela. I have to wake Bones up and tell her what has happened. I want to tell her by myself. I don't know how she's gonna react. She's feeling bad already with the death of Karen Lindberg and that bastard trying to kill me, and now this... This is going to be really, really difficult."

"Yes, you're right." She said.

Booth left her office and headed to Brennan's head bowed. He opened the door trying not to disturb her. He made no sound closing the door too. He rounded the couch and kept watching her sleep. She was curled up with her back touching the back of the couch, as she was trying to warm herself a little. Booth saw the worried expression on her face and thought that not even in dreams she was relaxed. He crouched down in front of her and placed a stubborn lock behind her ear with his left hand. His touch was so soft that she didn't wake up, but her face relaxed in the same moment his fingers touched her face. He put his right hand on the couch to keep the balance. She seemed to feel it in her dream and just moved her hand to catch his arm. She just hugged it as a child would hug a cuddly toy. He couldn't help to smile lightly, and just let her do it. She seemed completely relaxed now. He sat on the ground, and leaned his right side on the couch. He stood in that position for some minutes, feeling the warmth of her body in his arm. The back of his hand was touching lightly her belly through the blouse she was wearing. He just let her sleep a few minutes, more to himself, because her rhythmic heartbeats were calming him down a lot.

But he needed to wake her up, he had to tell her what had happened. He knelt and touched lightly her face to wake her up.

"Bones…"

"mmm…"

"Are you awake?" He asked in low voice. He tried to take out his arm of her grip, but she just hold it tighter.

"I don't know…" She answered with her eyes still closed.

"Bones… I need my arm back…" He said softly. She opened her eyes.

"What?" She answered sleepy. And then she was aware of the situation. Booth was knelt in front of her and she was holding something in her hands... his arm… "W-what…? H-how I…?" She just released his arm and sat on the couch. She didn't understand how his arm had ended between hers. But she was furiously blushed. He noticed it, of course, but said nothing. Just sat on the armchair and let her clear her mind.

"Bones…" he started doubtfully "something has happened."

"mmm…" She answered rubbing her eyes.

"He… he has done something…" She said nothing, just stared at him. "He has killed a couple, right after escaping from the hospital."

"What…?" She just said.

"He has killed a man knocking him on the head and then he has…" He didn't know how to tell her. But she needed to know what had happened.

"Booth!"

"He has… killed another woman." He didn't want to tell her the details of the attack yet.

"That isn't everything, right?" She said.

"What?"

"If he had just killed a woman you wouldn't feel so nervous by telling me."

"You're right… that's not all… I haven't all the details, but Perotta has told me enough for the moment. He has left a message addressed to me, this time." She was about to say something, but she just remained in silence. "It says that he's going to kill me to get to you, and that he's going to go on with all this shit until he gets you." He just waited for her to say something but she didn't say a thing. She just stood up and went to sit to her desk.

"Bones…" He stood up too and looked at her.

"What has he done to her?" She asked dryly without looking at him.

"Bones… why don't we wait until Perotta gives us more details?" He wasn't sure if she needed to know that right now.

"Booth… what has he done to her?" She insisted. Booth breathed deeply before telling her what Perotta had told him before. "He hasn't just killed her, right? If all of you are right, the most logical is that he made her suffer a lot because he was mad at me, for not being able to take me."

"For someone who doesn't like psychology you're applying it very well now."

"This has nothing to do with psychology, Booth. As I said, it's the most logical option. So am I right?"

"Yes, Bones. You're right." He bowed his head again. He knew she needed to know every detail, and she was going to know everything one way or another, either from him or from Cam, or from Perotta. He thought that he preferred to be him who told her, just for her to be prepared when Perotta came with all the lurid details. "Ok, I just know what Perotta has told me in short, I have no detail yet. He beat and raped her, and then he stabbed her several times. Then he wrote the note he left there for me. That's all I know by the moment." An awkward silence followed that last sentence.

"Why don't you take a nap now, Booth? I-I have to talk to A-Angela and you must rest too. I'm sure we're going to be locked here a lot of time." She said. She was trying not to look at his eyes. She was trying to hide the worry that was painted on her face. And besides, they have the other subject, and he also knew she wouldn't talk about it willingly now. He knew that very well. He didn't want to press her to talk about it. But he wanted her to know too that he wasn't going to let her run from that conversation.

"Bones…"

"I'm fine, Booth."

"No, you're not." He said. She raised her head to look stubbornly at his eyes. "Nothing is gonna happen to you, ok? I'm not gonna let him get close to you." He told her staring at her blue eyes. "And…this is not your fault, you understand me? Don't blame yourself for this…"

"I know it's not my fault." She replied turning her eyes back to her screen.

"I know that you know it's not your fault, but knowing it it's not going to make you not do it."

"I'm ok, Booth. You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to go anywhere outside the lab in who knows how long… so I'll be perfectly safe here." She looked at him just for a second. "I have a lot of work to do." She said standing up.

"Bones, wait a minute, please." He told her. She just stopped by his side without raising her eyes from the floor. "I-I'm sorry for before. I mean…" he saw an odd expression on her face, and knew it hadn't sounded very well "what I mean is that I'm sorry if you feel like I'm pressing you in some way. And I-I know you don't like when I go all _alpha male_, as you always says, with you. I'm sorry for that too." She didn't say a word, nor move a muscle. "Bones… look, I mean what I said to you, ok? I'm not sorry for that…" She remained in silence but looked at him. He saw a deep sadness in her eyes. This was going to be really hard. But he knew too that this wasn't the right moment to have this conversation. "Bones, we need to have a talk about all this, but I understand it's not the best moment right now. I just want to ask you for two things." He said. She didn't answer him with words, but with her eyes. "Please, don't run away from me. If you don't really feel that way about me, it's not going to be a problem, but please, d-don't… r-run away. We'll find a way to cope with this." He said. He took a deep breath. This hadn't been easy to say. She bowed her eyes again.

"That's just one thing." She said not daring to look directly at him.

"Yeah, I know. The second is, please, be honest with yourself, and with me. Don't go hide in your shell, because it's going to eat you from the inside slowly, and believe me, it's not a good thing." He said. "Don't try to rationalize your feelings. Feelings can't be rationalized, they wouldn't be feelings if so. They'd be just chemical reactions in your body. But that's not feelings. Feelings are just what those substances make you think. You feel happiness when you laugh, and I know it's because something has made you laugh, and that is making you produce all those substances of yours, and then you feel happy. But you feel happy because you have laughed before, not because of those substances…" He told her. He took another deep breathe. "Bones… whatever you decide to do, you must know that you're not going to lose me, ok?" He said, ducking a little in front of her and leaning his head to the left to make her look at him in the eyes. "Ok?" He asked her, insisting to her to give him an answer. She just kept staring at him, not raising her head. "Bones, I'm gonna get a neck pain…" He said. Then he saw her start to smile shyly and stood up again, smiling a little too.

"Booth… would you mind… lend me… your arm again?" She said blushing.

"In fact, yes, I mind."

"What? Ok… I see…" She said disappointedly.

"You haven't understood me, Bones…" He said, taking her into a tight embrace. "I lend all myself, if you don't mind…" he spoke right to her ear, making her shiver a little. They remained in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the warmth of the other.

"I just want all this shit to finish! I want to catch that…" She said against his shoulder, but he interrupted her softly.

"We're gonna catch him, Bones. Don't doubt that. We're gonna catch him, and we're gonna go on with our lives." He just closed his eyes and held her tighter.

To be continued...

* * *

Hey... I'm sorry, I'm late!!

I hope you're enjoying to read this story as much as I'm enjoying to write it!!

I love you, guys!!!!!!

Please, review... I love all your opinions... good or not good... everything is welcome!!!


	12. Revenge

Hi everybody again,

Here is the twelfth chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

* * *

REVENGE

Booth was sleeping on Bones' couch for a while. He was exhausted too, after everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

Brennan replied a few emails and then went to check how Hodgins was doing with the analysis of the syringe the killer had used against her. It had exactly the same substances as the one he used against Booth, but less concentrated this time. He didn't want to kill her, just left her unconscious. He had searched for particulates on the paper he had left before escaping through the sewers. He had found a partial thumb print and had sent it to Angela. She left him working on the evidences of the new crime scene, from the couple he had killed this morning.

Brennan entered Angela's office when she had just finished scanning on the university videos.

"Hey Bren! You're awake! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She said, a little more dryly than she wanted. They hadn't talk since Angela left her with Booth on the upper platform. But she didn't really want to talk about that now.

"Bren… I'm sorry… I didn't want to lay a trap on you before. It wasn't fair, but it wasn't planned. He just showed there at that very moment, and you were being just so honest with me…"

"Angela, stop! I really don't want to talk about that right now. We have a killer to catch before he does something else. We'll have time to discuss this later, ok?"

"At least say you're not mad at me, please!" Angela begged.

"I'm not mad at you. I know you didn't do that on purpose. We'll discuss it later, ok? Do you have something new?"

"I've sent the fingerprint Jack found on the paper to the FBI and I'm waiting for the results." She explained. "I have a few results from the hospital cameras, but as I told Booth before, there's nothing helpful." Brennan didn't know that Booth and Angela had been talking. Maybe Angela already knew about what had happened between them. She hid it from her face before Angela turned to look at her. "Just a few good images from his face, which I've sent to the FBI too for them to run in their databases, that's all. He doesn't appear in any record before today. And I guess he has nothing to do with the university because he doesn't appear in any recorded image." She explained. "I'm sorry… I'd like to tell you something more useful, but…"

"You're doing great, Angela. Your work is excellent. If I could just remember where I've seen him before… Where else could I've seen him?" She asked to herself.

"Maybe here. Think about it. You have thought about the university because you knew him. You've thought about the hospital because he seemed to know it very well and had access to some chemical substances. But we have those substances here too… and our security inside the lab is far stricter than the hospital. I mean, he couldn't enter here easily. Maybe he's some worker of another department and you've just seen him at the corridors or at the dinner…"

"But if he works here somebody else could recognize him. You've seen his face in the videos and haven't recognized him."

"Yes, you're right, but you and me not always move in the same departments, nor go with the same people… The Jeffersonian is very big… we sure can't know everyone."

"Well… we have nothing to lose. Maybe you're right. I'm going to ask for an employee list, just to be sure."

"No, don't worry. I'll do it. I want to ask for our surveillance videos too, to run the facial recognition test on them, just in case."

"Ok. Call me if you found anything." Brennan said, walking to the door.

"Sweetie… I know you don't want to talk about that, but… how is Booth doing?" Angela asked. Brennan turned pale. She didn't want to talk about it right now, not even with Angela.

"He's sleeping right now. He needed to rest more than me. I'm not the one who has been through surgery a week ago..." She said. "I have to go…"

"Hey… do you want an advice?" Angela offered sincerely.

"I'm not sure…" Brennan answered cowardly.

"Well, I'm going to give it to you anyway… sometimes, when somebody searches too hard for something or someone to be happy with doesn't find it, because is too busy just searching..."

"That doesn't make any sense…"

"It'll make sense when you search in the right direction." Angela said, and then Brennan left her office absolutely confused. She hadn't understood the advice Angela gave her, and discarded it in the bottom of her mind.

She went to talk to Cam too, but she was busy with paperwork of this and past cases. She was waiting for the bodies to arrive, to perform the autopsies, although they already knew the causes of death. The autopsies were just a way to certificate it.

She then headed to her office, but before she could open the door Perotta arrived.

"Dr. Brennan!"

"Agent Perotta!"

"How are you? Do you feel better?" Perotta asked.

"Yes, I'm ok. I've slept a few hours here and now I'm fine."

"How's Booth doing?"

"Well, he's sleeping right now. I don't want to disturb him if it's not absolutely necessary. Do you mind if we talk in another place? He need to rest properly for once."

"No problem." Perotta agreed. They headed to the upper platform, to the same place where these days Booth and Brennan had been sometimes trying to hide themselves from the world.

"How's your partner?" Brennan asked.

"He's doing fine. He's already awake."

"I'm glad to hear that." Brennan said. "Could you tell me something about what has happened today?" Brennan asked without ceremonies.

"He had attacked a couple this morning. The man has been crashed against the wall and his cranium just cracked. Then he attacked the woman, who was upstairs in the bedroom. I'm not going to soften it, because I think it's just impossible."

"I'd appreciate it. I prefer the truth, even if it's a hard truth."

"Well, he attacked the woman in her bedroom. He hasn't injected anything to her this time. He beat her violently. She was tied to the bed with her husband's neckties. The forensics think that he tied her and then went on with the beating. Then he raped her, several times, and brutally for what I know. I don't know more details of this part, because, honestly, I don't want to know what that son of a bitch exactly did to her, nor how many times, nor… no, I don't think this information could be useful, just lurid details. Well, after that he stabbed her with a knife he found in the kitchen. Several times too. Then he went downstairs to the kitchen again, left the knife covered in blood in its place, and left this note for Booth." She handed the note, what was in an evidence bag. Brennan read it carefully and thought that Booth had been too careful to not let her feel what that bastard really wanted to transmit. The irony, that was what disturbed her the most. That lack of feeling, he almost seemed to be enjoying all this. How on Earth could another human being be this cool-hearted to kill a man and torture a woman and a few moments later write an ironic note? She felt relief in the thought that she hadn't been that tortured woman, and was that relief what made her feel even more guilty, if that could be possible. That woman had undergone indescribable sufferings because that bastard couldn't get her.

She handed the letter to Perotta again, but said nothing. So Perotta continued.

"Well, you know he escaped through the sewers under the hospital. The house he has attacked is beyond Rock Creek Parkway. We think that he went in that direction for a reason. We suspect it wasn't a random choice that he attacked that couple in particular. We thought that he had the woman in mind just in case he couldn't catch you at the hospital. Their names were Jeffrey and Caroline Stanton. He worked in the Sales Department of a big supermarkets chain. She was the head of Health Services of the Strayer University. She had a Ph.D in Chemistry and was, seemingly, developing an investigation about some medicines to treat an illness, Bec… Best…Syndrome, or something like this."

"Behçet Syndrome." Brennan stated.

"Yes, that."

"It's an extremely rare disease, characterized by causing oral aphthous ulcers, skin lesions, ocular symptoms, and genital ulcerations …" Brennan explained.

"Yes… a very bad thing…" Perotta interrupted her. "Getting back to the point… I'm sure he didn't choose his victims randomly. Caroline Stanton had some similarities with you, like Karen Lindberg. I don't want to jump to conclusions but I'm sure that he killed Mr. Stanton because he opened the door in the middle of the night. It seems that he was attacked just after open the door. Maybe the autopsy will confirm it, but he didn't defend himself, and I suppose it was because he didn't expect a sudden attack like that. The killer just made him crash against the wall. There was a big mark on the wall, full of blood. He died because he was there."

"I see…" Brennan said, trying not to show the disgust she was feeling.

"It's obvious that the killer knew the woman. We're investigating the husband environment too, because we don't know if he knew her by himself or through her husband."

"I bet he knew her by himself…" She was sure of it.

"We're not sure, because the husband didn't doubt to open the door. We suppose he knew him too. But we have to cover all the fronts."

"Yes, of course."

"Do you have something new? Maybe something from the images?" Perotta asked.

"Yes." Brennan explained everything about the images, the clothes, the note, the partial fingerprint… everything they had until then. After that they went down to see if Cam had started with the autopsies of the bodies. She was working on Caroline's body now, and she seemed to be really disturbed for what she was watching in her.

"Hi Brennan, Agent Perotta…"

"Hello, Dr. Saroyan. I'm sorry for interrupting your work, but I want to know if you already have something from the bodies." Perotta asked.

"Well, I haven't started with the husband yet, but a preliminary sight of him tells me that he died because of this cranial trauma. He must die instantly. At first sight there's no other evidence of violence in his body. But the woman, that's another story. I have counted thirty stabs, some pre-mortem and some post-mortem. I've also found multiple bruises throughout her body. Clark was taking photographs from her to determine the projection of the stabs and blows. As soon as I finish with the autopsy Dr. Brennan can work on the bones. It'll be easier to determine the direction of the stabs from the marks on them." Cam took a deep breath before continue. "The body shows also marks of sexual assault… she was raped… brutally. But this time he has been less careful. I bet he was really angry this time and that made him make some big mistakes. I've found semen and more pubic hair in her this time. I'm going to do an exhaustive research on her skin for fingerprints, maybe we're lucky. And a toxicological test too, although it seems to me that she wasn't drugged this time, at least not with tranquilizers. I've found skin under her nails, so she fought…" She took another breath. "Sure she left some marks on him before to die. I'm running a DNA test on that skin, to compare it with the pubic hair I found in the first victim, Karen Lindberg. And that's all by the moment, though I don't think I'm going to find so much more."

"Thanks Cam. Call me when I can start on the bones."

"Ok."

Brennan and Perotta went out of the autopsies room in silence. They headed to the upper platform again.

"Do you want a coffee?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, please. Dr. Brennan." Perotta said while Brennan put the coffee machine on. "I have to tell you something. I have an idea to catch that bastard, but I'm not sure if you'd be willing to do it."

"Go on." Brennan answered, not raising her gaze from the cup.

"In any case we're going to wait until we have all the new evidences analyzed. We need to know all we could about him before do nothing." Perotta explained while Brennan handed her coffee cup. "If we couldn't catch him in less than 24 hours, and you agree to do it, we'll go on with this plan. We want to set a trap for him."

"And I suppose I'm the bait." Brennan said dryly.

"Yes, basically."

"What have you thought to do?"

"Well, let's assume that he's watching you. I know, we can't be one hundred per cent sure of that, but it's not important. Maybe he's not outside the museum, but sure he'll know if you're alone at home. Just in case he could be out here I thought we could perform a little drama outside the Jeffersonian. It could be something like you don't want to be locked here and just go home. Once there, just wait for him to appear. Of course we'll be waiting him, and ready to catch him before he tries to do anything. We'll deploy a large but hidden police presence outside your apartment, and we'll install surveillance devices inside, such as cameras and microphones, to see and listen all that could happen inside."

"Sounds like you have all already planned." Brennan answered bowing her head.

"Well, I've had some time to think about it at the hospital, and with these new murders… I want to catch him as soon as possible, before he kills someone else..." Perotta told her.

"Yes, I understand. Me too." She said.

"Dr. Brennan... I know this plan is not too... pleasant, but I'm sure you understand that it could be our best option to catch him." Perotta told her. She did understand, of course she did. She remained in silence a few moments, trying to order all the plan in her mind.

"I have a question. That performance you want me to play outside… I suppose you want me to argue with Booth, right?"

"Yes. Since our guy seems to want you alive and is absolutely mad at him, I think that he'll feel more encouraged to go after you if he thinks you're alone and not with him. Of course you won't be alone. As I said, there will be agents around your apartment, shooters in the building in front of yours, and more agents in the apartments next to yours." She explained.

"Do you honestly think that you could prepare all this without his knowledge? If he's watching me it's not going to be easy to set all this around me." Brennan asked.

"Yes, we'll prepare ourselves incognito, as if we were neighbors or workers. Don't worry about that, we've done it before." Perotta said. "Dr. Brennan… you know Booth will not be able, on any account, to stay with you at your home while we wait for our guy to appear, right? He's not yet in good condition to face a situation like that."

"I know." Brennan said, but a feeling of uneasiness ran through her spine. She knew Perotta was right, but the idea that he couldn't be with her really disturbed her a lot. "I'll do it." She said. "You already know Booth is not going to like this idea at all…"

"I know that, but if everything else fails, if all the clues and evidences we're analyzing don't come to anything useful, I'm sure this is the best chance to catch him."

"I suppose the FBI will allow me to carry a gun."

"Yes, of course. Don't worry about that." Perotta said, smiling.

"So, as I have only 24 hours to work on the new evidences I have no time to lose." Brennan said standing up.

"Perfect. I'm gonna go to talk with the work partners of the Stanton. Call me if you find anything." Perotta replied and left.

Brennan headed to her office again but thought better and let Booth rest a little more before tell him about Perotta's plan. She knew for sure that he wasn't going to like it at all. Instead she went to see Angela again. She thought that maybe it would be better tell her before Booth.

"Bren… I was about to call you, I've found him!" Angela said disturbed.

"Where?" Brennan asked surprised and anxiously.

"Here… at the Jeffersonian!" Angela said.

To be continued...

* * *

I know, I know... too late and a short one... I promise a very quick update this time...

Please, review... muaks!


	13. Decisions

Hi everybody again,

Here is the 13th chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

* * *

DECISIONS

Angela was almost frantic. At least a good advance. "I've found him in our cameras. The test is still running, but I have enough sequences to assure you that he has something to do with the Biology Department, because almost every sequence is from that section. Bren…"

"Biology… let me make a call…" She said picking up Angela's phone.

"Hi Dr. Lin, I'm Dr. Brennan, from the Medico-Legal lab. I'm going to send you a photograph, could you please tell me if you recognize the man in it?" She waited a few minutes in silence. "Really? … Could you send me this information, please? … Thank you!" She hung up the phone. "We have him, Ange!" She said, opening the message Dr. Lin sent to her. "Michael Corball, 30, administrative assistant of the head of Biology Department. Dr. Lin has told me that he called her four days ago and told her he was sick. He hasn't come to the Jeffersonian in these four days." She explained. "That name… now I remember! He was in one of my classes at the university a few years ago, before I begin to work with the FBI. He was involved in some sort of trouble, but I don't remember what it was. He was expelled from the university."

"Did you have something to do with that expulsion?" Angela asked.

"No, I don't think so. But let me check the annual reports. These kinds of things are always reported in them." She searched through Angela's computer and a minute later she found what she wanted. "Here it is. Michael Corball was expelled from the university on 2002 because of a sexual assault reported against him. Claire Damon was the alleged victim. She told the police that Michael Corball raped her during a study session in her bedroom. I don't know her, so I suppose she wasn't in my class." She said. She raised her eyes from the screen and thought for a moment. "Now I begin to remember the details. I remember him coming to my office. I don't remember him telling me anything about that report. I just remember him telling me that I was his youngest professor and that he had come to talk to me because he thought I could understand him better than others. I told him I'd try to help him to not be expelled because he was getting very good grades. But the rector made the last decision and I could do nothing for him. I never saw him again after that. According to what's in his curriculum vitae, he never got the Anthropology degree, but he got a job as an administrative assistant in a private lab. Two years ago he began to work here, in Biology." She explained to Angela.

"I suppose he found you were working here when he started his job in Biology, and maybe he has been getting obsessed with you since then."

"But I don't understand why, Angela. I could do absolutely nothing for him then. Why was he going to get obsessed with me because of that?" Brennan replied.

"I don't know, sweetie… I'm just trying to understand all of this. He's obsessed with you, that's beyond any doubt. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but… maybe it's not a coincidence that precedent… sexual assault? He started early…" Angela said ironically.

"Maybe not. But as I read here, Claire Damon dropped the charges against him, so it never arrived to court." Brennan said. "I have to call Perotta to come back here. She should know all this right now!" She dialed, and thirty seconds later she hung up. "She'll be here in five minutes." She remained in silence a few seconds, thinking how to tell her about Perotta's plan. She knew Angela wouldn't like the plan either. "Perotta has proposed me something…"

"Oh… yes?" Angela raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"She wants to lay a trap for him, and I'm going to do it."

"What exactly does her want to do? It doesn't sound good…" Angela said with worry.

"She thinks he could be watching me… so she wants me and Booth to argue outside as if I was mad at him for keep me locked here, and go home. He must think that I'm going to stay alone. And then just wait for him to appear with a lot of agents guarding."

"Definitely it's not good."

"She has explained that to me before we identified him, so maybe it's not going to be necessary. But if we don't catch him in 24 hours I'm going to do it, Ange."

"I'll love to see Booth's face when you explain that to him." Angela said, shaking her head.

"I know he's not going to like the plan at all, even less after…" She stopped talking suddenly. But Angela new exactly what she was going to say.

"After what?" Angela insisted. "After he told you that he loves you?" Angela said, grinning at her. Brennan just stayed in silence. "After he kissed you?" Ok. So Angela and Booth had been talking about her. For her relief Perotta entered in that very moment. "Don't think we're done with that conversation." Angela lastly said, turning her attention to Perotta.

"We know who he is." Brennan said, pointing to the screen where Michael Corball's curriculum was opened. She gave her a printed file with all the information about him too.

"Wow, that was quick!" Perotta said, surprised. Her phone biped with a message. "This is what I name coordination. You've just sent the information to the Headquarters and I already have the arrest warrant. I'm going to prepare a team to go to this address right now. Very good job!" She said leaving as quickly as she came in.

"Maybe it won't be necessary to carry the plan out."

"I hope so, believe me!" Angela said, sighing. Brennan headed to the door too. "Hey, where do you think are you going? We have to finish our interesting conversation."

"Not now Ange. I have to wake Booth up and tell him the news." She left without waiting for Angela to answer.

He was still sleeping when she entered her office. She stopped just a few seconds to look at him, and just ducked in front of him.

"Booth… wake up!" She said shaking him lightly.

"mmm…?" He murmured.

"Wake up! We have identified him, we know who he is!"

"Yeah?" He said, straightening up sleepily and sitting.

"Yeah…" Brennan stood up and went to her computer to show him the details. She told him everything about who was Michael Corball, what happened in 2002 and what was he doing now. Booth felt really disturbed when she told him that killer worked at the Jeffersonian. She also told him that Perotta was on her way to his address, but nothing about the trap, because she thought that maybe it wouldn't be necessary to go with it after all.

"Why don't we call Sid for some thai? We haven't eaten anything throughout the day." Booth suggested.

"Sounds good!" Brennan accepted.

--

Perotta had arrived to the address with two more agents. It was a house with a little garden surrounding it. There was no car in the garage. The windows were all closed, but they could see through the drapes that was an inhabited house. The three agents aimed their guns. One of them went surrounding the house through the garden, and Perotta and the other one positioned on guard at both sides of the main door before kick it to enter. Each one aimed to one side, covering all the fronts. It seemed that nobody was at home. The agent that went around the garden entered through the rear door, in the kitchen. They inspected the two floors of the house, but they found no-one. The house was in a meticulous order, everything was in its place, and there wasn't a speck of dust.

"I don't like this…" Perotta said to herself. She had a bad feeling about that place.

"Me neither…" Said one of the agents, while the other went back to inspect the kitchen. "Agent Perotta…" The first called, making a sign to be quiet and pointing to what seemed a dried flower arrangement. Between the daisies there was a thin black tube, pointing directly to them. She pulled it up, and discovered what it was.

"It's a wireless webcam… he's watching us. This is a trap!" In that moment the agent that was in the kitchen came back running as fast as he could.

"Run! Run! Get out!!" He shouted. The three agents ran through the main door, which was the faster way out of the house. They were running toward the car when the house exploded, the blast shoved them, making all of them fall to the ground violently.

It took at least thirty seconds to Perotta to be able to move again. She checked by instinct if every extremity of hers was fine. She stood up slowly and looked around. Hopefully, the two other agents were fine too. They were trying to stand up too, and looking directly at the house.

"Is everybody ok?" Perotta asked shouting.

"I'm fine!" One agent answered.

"Fine too!" The other one said too.

"What the Hell has happened here?" Perotta asked.

"It was a trap! There was a bomb in the oven! I saw a little screen through the glass with a countdown, it was still in 5 seconds when I saw it." The agent said. Perotta listened to him while headed to the car to report to the Headquarters what had happened. She didn't understand why the bomb had a countdown… wasn't it easier to make it explode without ceremonies?

--

Cam entered Brennan's office and found she and Booth eating their thai food and reviewing all the evidences of the case.

"The house has gone off." She said straight to the point. Booth and Brennan let go of the chopsticks at the same time. "Everybody is fine, but it was a trap. Agent Perotta is on her way here, so she'll explain every detail when she arrives."

"But… how did he know they were going to be there?" Booth asked.

"I have no idea… but he was expecting us, that's for sure. Sweets's coming too. He was at the Hoover and Perotta has asked him too to come here."

"Ok, we'll wait here till they arrive." He said.

"Brennan… I've finished with Caroline Stanton autopsy. I haven't found anything more in her. She hasn't been drugged this time. I've sent Angela the patterns of the wounds for her to create different scenarios, but she needs the patterns from the bones too. I've finished with her, so you can start with the bones."

"Perfect. Thanks Cam. Could you ask Clark to prepare the body for me, please?" Brennan asked.

"Yes, of course." Cam said. "I'm gonna start with Mr. Stanton right now. It's gonna be a quick one, I guess. I'll call you when I finish with him." And she left.

Brennan put her food on the table and stood up. "I'm going to help Clark to clean the bones." She announced.

"No, no, no… you're going to finish your meal. You haven't eaten anything in all day. You're going to get sick if you don't eat. I'm sure Clark can do a great job by himself. You'll be able to help him after you finish your noodles." He stood up too and placing his hands on her shoulders he guided him to her chair again. "Now, sit down and eat."

"Booth, don't…" She started, but he didn't let her go on.

"Eat!" He said, pushing her down lightly to make her sit on her chair again.

"Oh, ok!" She said, giving up. "You're like a mother…" They finished their noodles in silence and then she headed to the platform where Clark was preparing the bones to be examined. Booth stayed in her office, knowing that something was wrong with Bones. She was distant and avoided his gaze all the time, though she was trying to look ok. She was trying to not let anyone know that she was scared, and not only because of that killer.

Perotta entered Brennan's office and found Booth with the files of Michael Corball. He was surprised with her face. She had a deep wound on her right cheek, another one on her right eyebrow and her arms were covered with scratches.

"You look like Hell!"

"Thank you, Booth…"

"What has happened?"

"It was a trap. There was a bomb in the oven. We entered the house but there was nobody inside. Everything was meticulously clean and in order... but that's not the oddest. He was watching us through this." She handed to Booth a bag with it inside. She had managed to escape of the house with it. "It was hidden in a dried flowers arrangement in the living room. It's a wireless web-cam." She put the web-cam on Brennan's table.

"Maybe Angela could do something with this." He said.

"There's something I don't understand… he put a bomb in the oven for us, but he set it with a countdown… I don't know if the countdown was set before or after we arrived. Maybe he activated it when he saw us inspecting the house through the cam. I don't understand the countdown. It had been easier and more effective made the bomb explode directly. We were lucky to find it in time."

"Maybe he just had access to that type of device. I don't know. He seems to be playing with us. I guess he wanted to be identified. Why so did he appear in the hospital face-uncovered? I'm sure he had all planned. He let us know who he is and where he works, and set a trap in the first place we suspect he could be…"

"I'm going to talk with his partners and boss in the Biology Department. Do you want to come?" She offered.

"Yes, why not? I need to do something useful or I'll go crazy!" He said.

They went out of Brennan's office and were walking toward the Biology Department.

"I hate not to be able to be more useful…" He said.

"You're useful even in your actual state. You helped Dr. Brennan at the hospital, and keep her centered in the lab. That's a lot." Perotta answered.

"If I had been awake a little more time yesterday, that bastard wouldn't have had the chance to attack me in the first place." The anger in his voice was clear.

"You don't know that. Maybe you'd be dead right now." She said. "Anyway, we're going to catch him. Cullen's supervising all the preparations for the operation to be carried out tomorrow, in case we couldn't catch him till then." She explained. But Booth didn't know anything about that.

"What are you talking about? What operation?" He asked surprised.

"Hasn't Dr. Brennan told you anything about that?"

"No… She knows about an FBI operation?" Booth asked, even more surprised that she hadn't told him something as important as that.

"Of course she knows. She's the star of the show!" Perotta answered.

"Ok, stop. Do you mind explain to me what's going on?" He stopped suddenly in the corridor.

"I asked her to play a little show to catch him. We're going to set a trap for him. She's going to go home and wait for him to appear. Cullen is preparing everything thoroughly. We have made sure that there aren't bugs or other devices in her apartment, and we're going to install surveillance devices in there." Booth already knew how it worked. His face was contracted in a disgust expression. "There will be shooters posted at the front building, an incognito team at the street and more agents in the apartments next to hers, ready to enter at the first sign of danger." She was about to explain to him about the little performance they must play outside the Jeffersonian, but he didn't let her go on.

"No! no! no! no way she's going to be the bait! You've already seen what that son of a bitch is capable of! Do you honestly think I'm going to let her put herself in so much danger?" He yelled. A few workers looked at them discreetly.

"I already knew you weren't going to like this idea… I thought she had told you." Perotta tried to calm him, but his eyes were full of fear. "Nothing is gonna happen to her. Our best agents and our best shooters will be there for her. We'll have her apartment monitored all the time."

"No! No way! This fucking bastard has already almost killed you and your team! You're underestimating him thinking you'll be able to fool him with your show. What if it doesn't work? It's her life what you put in risk! If you want to go on with this plan is not going to be with her. Look for another puppet to play this show!" He was still yelling. But Perotta wasn't a newbie on this.

"Booth, I don't want to remember to you that you're not the one in charge here. If you have a problem with her decisions, because she was agree to do it, go and talk to her. Do you really want me to wait that _fucking bastard_ to kill someone else? We're just doing everything in our hand to stop and catch him!" She shouted to him.

"I know that very well, but to get her tortured, raped and killed is not an option to consider!" He said. "Think of another way to do it, because this is NOT gonna happen!" He said and left her in the corridor. She didn't reply anything. She knew it would be useless even to try it. So she turned around and headed to Biology.

Booth was mad at Brennan. Why didn't she tell him anything about that crazy plan? Sure he was going to talk to her. He was going to make himself sure she listen carefully to him. "This woman is going to be the death of me!" He murmured to himself on his way back to the platform.

When he arrived there she was with Hodgins and Clark reviewing some results while the bones were cleaning.

"Bones!" He said, grabbing her elbow and trying to draw her to a more private corner. But she fought him.

"Booth! Don't push me! I'm working! What's wrong with you?" She shouted.

"Wrong with me? Nothing is wrong with me! It's wrong with YOU!" He shouted back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Booth, but I don't have time for your shouts! I have a lot of work to do!" She yelled to him and tried to turn around, but Booth hadn't released her elbow and didn't let her go.

"Have you lost your mind? Whatever made you agree to put yourself in such a danger? Are you crazy?" He yelled.

"Definitely I'm very sane. I don't know what you're talking about." She said, trying to lie.

"Oh, no, don't try to play your little games on me. You're not good doing it. You know very well what I'm talking about!" He replied, looking directly at her.

"What do you want me to do? I can't be waiting for him to come for me or to kill someone else! I have to do something, Booth!" She said facing him.

"Bones… please, don't do that, it's too much dangerous. What if something goes wrong? Do you really want to end up in that bastard's hands? Come on! You can't be serious!" He replied. Hodgins and Clark were staring at the pair, Angela and Cam had come out too when they started to fight.

"I am serious. Do you have a better idea to catch him? If you know another way to do it, just tell it!" She said.

"Why don't you concentrate on the bones and other scientific analysis you can run here with far more security?" He said with desperation printed on his face. He was almost begging.

"Because maybe it's not enough!" She replied.

"Bones… you have nothing to demonstrate to anyone. You don't have to put your life in that danger. We'll find another way to catch him." He said in a softer voice.

"And what if there's no other way?" She said stubbornly.

"No way! You listen to me, no way I'm gonna give that fucking bastard the chance to t-torture, r-ra…" He couldn't even finish the sentence. He took a desperate breath, almost a sob, before go on. But she spoke before.

"I already know what the risks are, Booth, and I'll assume every one of them!" She shouted.

"Even if it costs you your own life?" He replied desperately. "I know you blame yourself for the death of this people, but it's NOT your fault. You're not a trained FBI agent, let the real ones do their job and you just concentrate in yours."

"Thank you for remembering that to me, as if I didn't know it very well! That's sounds really stuck-up of you! But I'm not made of glass, Booth. I can defend myself very well, I already told you that. And anyway, you had no right to decide over me, and a mere kiss doesn't change that. If I let every man that has kissed me do that I'd be a rag doll!" Angela rolled her eyes at that statement. She knew it would hurt Booth a lot.

In fact, he turned pale when he listened to her say that. That made him think that maybe the kiss they shared hadn't meant anything for her. Sure it was just a kiss, but he had opened her heart for her in that moment. That was why those words made him feel so upset. He had opened her heart but she kept hers in a box closed under lock and key.

"Sweetie… Booth's right. It's not necessary to assume that risks. The price you could pay would be too much."

"Not now, Angela! This is not your business!" She was getting angrier minute by minute.

"Don't tell me it's not my business! Of course is my business! You're my best friend and I care for you. I don't want to see you put your life in danger just because you want to expiate the guilt you feel. Maybe you're ready to assume the risks, but we don't want to assume the consequence if something goes wrong." Angela said that trying to not sound upset.

"Nothing is gonna happen to me, Ange. There will be a lot of agents just to keep me safe." She replied, softer this time. But Booth answered with a severe look in his eyes.

"You can't be absolutely sure about that. You're the one that hates jump to conclusions, but you're assuming everything is going to go smoothly. That sicko has shown he's a very clever one, not someone you must underestimate." He tried his best to hide the disappointment from his voice, but failed miserably. Angela noticed it, but Brennan was too upset to be aware of that.

"Honey… we don't want anything bad happening to you, that's all!" Angela said, trying to calm her down.

"I know that Ange, and I really appreciate it, but I don't want anyone else to die because of me. If I can do whatever in my hands to stop him, I must try!"

"They haven't died because of you. You haven't killed them, right? They've died because that bastard had killed them. You're not responsible, in any case, of his actions. Of course you must do whatever you can to catch him, but not at your safety's expenses. Your life is the most valuable thing you have, you already know that, but specifically yours is even more, because of what you do, because you're the best in your job and that helps the rest of us to live better." Angela said. She was trying to hit her soft spot.

"Angela… don't you understand that's exactly why I have to do this? If there's a little chance to catch that bastard, the world become a safer place with him out of it. That's what we do!" She said that last sentence pointing to Booth.

"Ok." He said.

"What?" Brennan and Angela said in unison, the first in surprise and the second in fear.

"Ok. It's useless to try to make you change your mind because you're too much stubborn to even consider it. If you want to do it, just do it. But I'm gonna stay with you all the time. There's no way in Hell you're going to do that alone, and I don't trust any agent of the FBI, nor the entire Bureau enough to put your life in their hands." She was about to reply, but he didn't let her. "I don't care if you don't like it. As you say, you take your own decisions, but I take mine too." He said angrily looking directly at her eyes.

"No! You're not in good condition to do it, and you know that! You need to be in a comfortable place, resting, Booth. You shouldn't even be here in the first place. If it wasn't for this situation you'd be resting peacefully at home, instead of being stressed here! This is not good for you! Even less when you're sure a dangerous situation is going to take place." She said full of concern.

"Now answer me something, Bones. Why should I take into consideration your warnings concerning my wellness when you're just ignoring ours concerning yours?" He said irate.

"Perotta won't allow you to participate." She just said.

"Sorry, try again!" He insisted ironically.

"What? Haven't you heard me? Perotta won't…" He interrupted her abruptly.

"I've heard you very well, but I don't want to know Perotta's reasons. I want to know YOUR reasons."

"I've already told you, Booth! You're not in good shape to face a situation like that! The last you need is to get involved in a stressful situation. Your brain could collapse."

"You haven't answered my question. I know the medical reasons why I shouldn't do it, but I've asked you why I should follow your indications when you want to ignore my advices." He insisted. He knew she was trying to find some escape.

"I don't know where this conversation will lead us..."

"I don't understand why you have so much fear to deal with your feelings but you don't mind to jump into the lion's den!"

"I don't know what that means, but I don't have time for this…" She said, turning on her heels to the platform again. She felt pressed by Booth, and she didn't know how to deal with that.

"Bones!" Booth called her. He was about to follow her but Angela stopped him.

"Booth… let me, please. I'm sure she doesn't mean what she's said, but she's under a lot of pressure right now, and she can tell you hurtful words just because she feels cornered."

"But…" He just said, but Angela didn't let him say more.

"Booth… you know I'm right. Let me, ok? I promise you I try my best to make her see reason."

"I mean what I've said. If she finally does it, I'm gonna stay with her. Make yourself sure she understands that, because it's not debatable." He said to Angela really serious.

Brennan had ended in Angela's office not knowing why. She just didn't think where to go when she left the platform, and the comfortable and nearest place was this. She sat on her friend's armchair and closed her eyes, trying to regain some self-control. Angela had followed her and sat on her couch, besides Brennan.

"Sweetie… are you ok?" Angela asked softly. Brennan didn't answer. "You could be very cutting when you want, you know."

"I'm not in the mood for more arguments about my decisions right now, and I have a lot of work to do." She said.

"I'm not talking about any decision of yours, though I don't like it. I'm talking about that stroppy comment that you spat at Booth."

"I don't know what comment are you talking about."

"Please, Bren! Of course you know! Don't treat me like an idiot!" Angela said ruder this time. Brennan was shocked. She didn't see her friend so angry in a lot of time. "You know that man would happily give his own life for you if it was necessary, you already know that, and you're treating him as if he was some kind of a show-off bastard. What's more, he has the guts to tell you how he feels about you because he had the faith that you could face the truth and fight your demons. But what you're doing is running scared like a spoiled brat. What surprises me the most is that even when you're roughly pushing him away he still feels like going with you to the end of the world if there's where you want to go." Angela calmed herself a bit, took a deep breath and continued. "I don't understand why is so difficult for you to deal with your feelings, but you have no problem to face a killer who shows no mercy at all with his victims. I don't understand why you are so impatient to be face to face with that bastard."

"I don't think you're and idiot, and I'm not trying to treat you like one. I know Booth just wants me to be safe, but as I've said before, maybe this is the best chance to catch him before he kills someone else. It's not like I don't want to do this without a good reason. And I'm not a spoiled brat!" She replied.

"Ok, I can understand those reasons. But what about running scared from your feelings for him?" Angela insisted.

"I don't want to talk about that." She just said.

"Oh, talking with you about your feelings is like banging your head against a brick wall." Angela said with resignation. "Ok." She took another deep breath. "Don't you honestly understand how you've made him feel by spitting out that about him kissing you? It has sounded as if you don't care for him at all! And you know what? I know you, and I know better. You care for him as much as he cares for you, but he faces it. Sure he could have done something about that long before, but he has done it at last. Don't you want to talk about your feelings? Do you prefer to keep them buried deep inside your shell? Ok, as you've said you take your own decisions. But, as you've said too, you're gonna have to face the consequence. You're risking more than what you think. You're risking your relationship with Booth because you don't like to deal with strong emotions."

"I can deal with strong emotions, I do it every day in the cases. I'm not made of stone, Ange."

"No, I'm not talking about the emotions you see in other people. Those emotions don't have anything to do with you because aren't yours. You simply hide when YOU feel too much, when the emotions are yours. And that's exactly what's happening right now between you both." Angela said. Brennan didn't say a thing, just kept staring at her friend. "Sweetie…" Angela started again in a softer tone this time "it's ok to be scared, it's normal. But you can't allow the fear to take the control of your life. You must take your decisions with head and heart, but don't allow the fear to take them for you, because you'll find yourself facing situations you don't want to face and could be hard. I wouldn't insist so much if I wasn't absolutely sure about it. Your mouth is telling one thing but your eyes and your face are telling something very different, are telling the truth."

"Angela, you know those days are not being very easy for me. I think you're right, it's too much to try to catch a killer who is obsessed with me and killing innocent people and deal with… how to say it… Booth's feelings…" She said. Angela looked at her with and odd expression. "Ok, and mine too." She finally admitted. "But right now it's more important the case than any other thing, including our emotions, feelings or whatever you wanna call them."

"Ok. You're right too. Maybe this wasn't the best moment, but you're gonna make me another promise."

"What do you want me to promise you this time?" She said resigned.

"That you're going to frighten away your fears and face your feelings for Booth."

"All I can promise you is this: when the case is over and not before, I'll make a decision about my relationship with Booth, and I'll try my best to do it rationally." She offered.

"Ok, but I promise you something too: I'm not going to let you take any decision about that if I detect the faintest trace of fear in you." Angela replied. She knew Brennan very well and she knew that promise wouldn't be enough and she could need some help with it. "Have we a deal?"

"Yes, we have a deal." She said, very very resigned.

"Ok, I let you concentrate on your work." Angela said heading to the door. But before leave she turned again. "I almost forgot! You know you're breaking the promise you made me about follow Booth's advices to keep you safe, right?" Angela said. Brennan didn't answer but kept staring at her waiting for the second part. "You already know what I think about that foolish plan, but Booth is right in two things. First this is not a good idea, and second, if you're finally going to do it, let him stay with you. He prefers to face Death with you than to stay safe in any other place without you. And even in his current state I'll feel better if I'm sure he's with you. So please me with this, ok?"

"You are one the second most persuasive person I know." Brennan said, accepting Angela's reasons.

"Well, yeah, Booth is simply unbeatable." Angela answered grinning.

To be continued...

* * *

I'm really really sorry! I'm late again!!!! My internet connection is not the best of this world and sometimes it decides to take some breaks...

Reviews are always welcome (all of you already know that!!!)

Hasta el próximo capítulo!!


	14. Profile

Hi everybody again,

Here is the 14th chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

* * *

PROFILE

After talking to Angela, Brennan remained for a few moments in her office, trying to adjust herself. Then she headed to the platform where Clark has already cleaned the bones of Caroline Stanton. She knew they needed to identify as much evidences as they could about her life style. This way they could give Sweets as much information as they could to maybe, just maybe, let him be able to predict his movements in order to catch him. She spent all the afternoon working with Clark on the bones. Booth tried to talk to her but she refused, and made him lie on her couch again and sleep for a while. He didn't complain because he thought he should be in the best conditions to face that crazy plan she and Perotta wanted to perform. He thought he should talk to Perotta too, to make himself sure she understood the only way he was letting her do this would be if he was with her. But that'd be later.

At the end of the afternoon Sweets came to the lab with a full psychological profile of Michael Corball. He had done a research on the FBI old cases and had found some interesting and macabre discoveries. Perotta had also come back from Biology with nothing more than the employee profile and a few references of his coworkers. Everyone told her that Michael Corball was an excellent officer.

Brennan had wakened Booth up and they headed to the upper platform, to the meeting table. Perotta, Sweets and Cam were already there. After welcome them Perotta started. She explained in chronological order, what had happened since Dr. Brennan had received the first package, the light bulb. She remembered every detail, just to check all the data they had til now. She concluded with the employee profile and the plan for the next day. Then Sweets took the floor.

"I've developed an exhaustive psychological profile of Michael Corball. Here you have." He said, handing a copy to every one of them. "Although the habitual is to call a killer as a serial one when he or she has killed at least three persons, this is indeed a serial killer, as I said in our first meeting. A disorganized kind, in fact. It seems that the only thing that motivates him is to get to Dr. Brennan. I think he doesn't want to kill her in an instant, but to take her to a private place. He wants her alive by the moment, and that's a good thing, because that could give us more time to catch him, and a chance to find her in case he gets her." At that comment Booth clenched his jaws but said nothing. Brennan shuddered almost imperceptibly. "The attack at the hospital confirms that theory, because he didn't kill her, but he didn't doubt to try to kill agent Harmon, as he tried with agent Booth before. As I've said, his obsession for her, in this case, runs in our favor, because this gives us the chance to find her in case he gets her." Brennan closed her eyes trying to stay calm and paying attention to Sweets. Booth sensed her uneasiness, it couldn't be any other way, and held her hand. He was doing exactly the same he did in the first meeting, tell her without words he was there no matter what. "If everything he has said to her and Booth is true, he has prepared a place to hide her, especially for her. Given the facts and the way he killed the first two victims I don't have doubts that he wants to take her there and enjoy the process of killing her." Brennan involuntarily clenched her fists, and Booth looked at her. She was fighting the tears. He held her hand with both hands.

"Sweets! Could you be more subtle, please?" He said. Sweets saw their hands and understood.

"I'm sorry, agent Booth, but I think it will be better for everyone if I explain all this as aseptic as I can. But I'll try."

"Thanks." Booth said, and Sweets went on.

"I think the things he had done to the two victims are an outlet for his own temperament. He gets excited with his victims suffering, what turns him in a sadist pervert." He took a breath and went on. "I'm sorry, but what I'm about to say I can't soften it." He said looking at Booth and Brennan. "I don't know what he'd be able to do to her if he had the opportunity. I mean, what he wants to do to her, he has everything already planned. Usually, a person who wants to take revenge on someone causes a lot more pain when he or she does it deliberately, than when he or she does it feeling the urge to do it, in the heat of the moment. I'm sure that his violence and sadism would be elevated to the highest level if his victim was Dr. Brennan." She didn't want to react but couldn't help to start shaking. She hated to be scared, but even more to not be able to control herself. Booth passed her arm behind her back and clasped her against him to comfort her a little. Sweets was paying attention to her, just in case, but he thought that while she was with Booth she could manage.

"As I've said he is a sadist, because he enjoys making others suffer, both physically and psychologically. He had made himself sure to make this point very clear with the last note founded at the Stanton's place addressed to agent Booth. Obviously, everything or everyone that steps in his way must be eliminated. He's really clear about that and has demonstrated it beyond any doubt. Fortunately he hasn't found his purpose neither with agent Booth or agent Harmon."

"He has no conscience, and therefore he doesn't feel any remorse for what he does. He shows that treating everyone that's trying to catch him with irony. He's arrogant but very intelligent too. And he has access to both medical and technological resources to attack and to spy his objectives."

"About the way he chooses his victims when he cannot get Dr. Brennan he searches for women as similar to her as possible. Not similar in the appearance, but in personal achievements. Well, Karen Lindberg and Caroline Stanton were beautiful women, indeed, but their beauty wasn't similar to Dr. Brennan's. The principal reason for the attraction he feels for her is that she's a very successful woman, one of the best in her field if not the best, and sure her appearance can increase his desire for her. All this is a symptom that leads me to think that, in fact, he envies her to the point to yearn for the reputation she has, and in his mind, the best way to get this is just get her."

"His familiar records are _excellent_. He fulfills all the requirements to become a serial killer. He passed his childhood between the abuses and the battering from his father and the indifference from his mother, who also suffered the constant abuses from his husband. In fact, Anthony Corball killed his wife Margaret when Michael was ten. His father killed his mother in front of him. I don't think anyone could ever recover after that. Seemingly Mr. Corball enjoyed raping her repeatedly. At the crime scene the agents found all kind of gadgets hanging on the basement wall, such as shackles, handcuffs, whips, robes, and some torture items more typical from the Middle Ages than from our time. The police report of that case is one of the more horrifying I've ever read. I'm going leave out the shocking details, but it's important to know what triggered his behavior to understand how his mind works. According with his own testimony in his parents' case he saw only the end of his father's attack against his mother. He told the agents that that day his mother has sent him to her sister's home. It seems that his mother did it frequently, supposedly to move his son away from his husband. His aunt's house was not far away from his own, and that day his cousins asked Michael for a train game he had in his basement. When he arrived and opened the door he saw her mother on a rickety bed, on her stomach, with her hands and feet tied to the four corners of the bed, and with his father upon her mother, both naked. He explained that his father looked at him, but kept doing what… what he was doing to her wife, staring at his son until the end. Michael saw that his mother was tied with a sort of handcuffs with thorns on the inside, hammered on her flesh, totally bloodstained. He explained that his mother couldn't turn her head to look where he was, so she never knew that her son watched her die. Michael explained, word by word that "my mother was yelling and writhing in pain as if she was possessed by the main Devil, who was my own father." This is extremely hard to explain, believe me, I'm trying to soften it, but it's very difficult." Sweets said, visibly shocked.

"Did someone listen to the shouts? By what you're telling that was not the first time Mr. Corball abused his wife, right?" Perotta asked.

"Mr. Corball was very cautious, and soundproofed the basement, like a recording studio. The police report says that nobody wouldn't have heard anything from the inside, not even standing in front of the basement door. The story ends with her mother's death. His exact words were "my father put the head of my mother in a transparent plastic bag. She stopped yelling, but my father started to do it, but he didn't stop to stare at me." I think everyone here understands what that means, I'm not going to _translate_ it. Michael ran away from the house when he saw her mother stop moving. He went to his aunt home and told them what he had seen. They came back to the Corball's house, because the story Michael was telling was too much incredible and they believed he was delirious. When they arrived Mr. Corball wasn't in the house, but they found the scene exactly how Michael had explained. They called the police and his father was arrested two hours later. Anthony Corball was sentenced to death and executed sixteen years ago, when Michael was 14."

"In short, we're dealing with a psychopath with no conscience or remorse. This was probably caused by his traumatic childhood and to witness the extremely violent death of his mother by his father's hands. He enjoys making the others suffer. He prefers to cause physical pain, but he also enjoys the psychological one. It's absolutely obsessed with Dr. Brennan, and I'm sure he's totally determined to do anything in his hand to capture her." He said. Booth sensed Brennan's hand tighten at that sentence.

"Sweets!" Booth said, looking with an unfriendly face.

"Sorry…"

"Something else?" Perotta asked.

"No, that's all." Sweets answered.

"Where was his parent's house? Is it the one that he has blown up?"

"Yes, it's the same. It seems that he inherited it when her father died. He was living with his aunt since he was 18 and then moved to his own house again. I find that very disturbing, because he had suffered a lot of bad things in that house, but instead of never return there he went back to live there at the first chance he had. A lot of indifference is needed to do such a thing, and I think he had already begun to transform in what he is now." Sweets answered her.

"I don't remember him as a problematic man when he was in my class." Brennan said.

"Well, that's due to what Hervey Cleckley calls the mask of sanity. A psychopath usually has a normal behavior between acts. It's very difficult identify them when they're _acting_. Well, they really act to make everyone surrounding them believe that they're as normal as everybody. Although, he was dumped from the university because of rape charges, right?"

"Yes, he was. In fact, as I've already explained to agent Perotta before, he came to me asking for help. He didn't want to be dumped. And besides, Claire Damon dropped the charges against him, so he was never sentenced." She explained.

"We can't know anything about that just because of that, there's no file to study." Sweets concluded.

"Ok. We're dealing with a big son of a bitch. Do we have something new to catch him? We've tried to go to the house but that was a trap. Have Ms. Montenegro something new about the webcam?" Perotta asked.

"What webcam?" Brennan asked. She had been working on the platform all the afternoon and knew nothing about that.

"There was a webcam in the house. Perotta saved it before the house went off. It's in your office, on your desk." Booth said.

"And nobody has found that important enough to give all the priority?" She said standing up.

"Bones! Where are you going?" Booth asked.

"I'm going to give it to Angela to examine, of course! I'll be right back." She said, leaving the meeting.

"Sweets, how do you think we should tackle the plan for tomorrow?" Perotta asked.

"Yes, Sweets, I'm dying to know what you have to say about that…" Booth replied staring directly at Sweets.

"I guess we have an issue here."

"Sweets, this is not one of your sessions. Agent Perotta and I are not partners, so you don't have to analyze this relationship. Go to the point and answer the question." Booth replied.

"Ok, ok. I think agent Perotta's plan is a good idea." He said. Booth didn't let him go on and with a snort he replied.

"How can you say that?"

"Let me finish, please, agent Booth." Sweets said. Booth bowed his head with resignation and Sweets continued. "As I was saying, I think broadly speaking is a good idea. But, though I'm sure Dr. Brennan has agreed to go with it," he said looking to Perotta, who nodded "I think she shoudn't be alone in the process. I know Dr. Brennan and I'm sure she's blaming herself for the death of the victims, and this is her way to cope with that, put herself in risk in a desperate plan to stop him. But she isn't thinking rationally right now, although she could say right the opposite. I think it could be very dangerous for her to be alone in the house because her mental state could make her do something stupid if she has to confront the killer alone. She could kill him without hesitation, or even worse, he could kill her because the rage she feels could cloud her judgment."

"I'm agreed with your reasoning, but not at all points." Booth said. "I guess I'm the only one that thinks this is just a crazy plan, but you're right. She's absolutely decided to do it, but she mustn't be alone. If this plan is finally going ahead I'm going to stay with her all the time, and I don't care if Perotta, Cullen, Bones, Sweets, or the President of the United States himself doesn't like it." He said that with total determination.

"Booth, you are NOT…" Perotta started, but Sweets interrupted her.

"Booth's right. He must be with her, because, although I know the things between you two" said turning to Booth again "are being difficult these days, she trusts you enough to let you be in charge of the situation. Agent Perotta, think about it. If you put an unknown agent in her apartment with her you are fixing nothing about her mental state. She won't allow him to take care of her in any case. And that gives Michael Corball a good chance to catch her. My advice is to let Booth be with her in her apartment all the time, although his conditions are not the best right now."

"Don't you think that maybe Booth is not in enough good shape to face a confrontation with Corball?"

"Maybe, but among all the options we have to go ahead with the plan this is the best. As I've said I don't recommend in any case, that Dr. Brennan stays alone in the apartment. Neither with an agent she doesn't trust. That leaves us with just one option, and that's to search for someone who wants to stay with her and that she trusts enough. Do you know someone else with that description besides agent Booth?" Perotta didn't answer. "You must take into consideration that you're making her face a possibly violent situation with a killer, and she thinks that all the people he's killed before have died because of her. How would you react in her situation? Probably you just pull the trigger at the first opportunity, even if he appears unarmed. That would be the most probable scenario for you, but she's not a trained agent, despite of what she could think about herself. She can react that way, or just block herself in front of him. I found very improbable that she tries just to stop him without shooting at him at the first chance. And it would be even worse if she just block when he appears. She could get killed or abducted by him. The best option is that Booth stays with her, both to protect her from Corball and Corball from her."

"Ok, if that's your advice then we'll do it this way. I'll talk to Cullen to make all the arrangements to get Booth in the apartment discreetly."

"You know, Sweets, I'm starting to think better of you." Booth said smiling.

"Yeah… but that's just because I was agree with you in this. It will be fantastic when you think better of me when you aren't." Sweets said.

"Come on! Don't play the victim, Sweets!" Booth said jokingly.

"I'd like to speak with you and Dr. Brennan as soon as all this finishes. I'd speak with her now, but I know she won't listen to me right now."

"You're right. She's under a lot of pressure and is having troubles even listening to me. But don't worry, everything's gonna be ok with her. She's the strongest woman you've ever met." Booth said, standing up.

"Yes, I think you're right." Sweets answered.

"Thanks, Sweets." He said, and left.

Booth headed to Angela's office searching for Bones. When he arrived she was leaving her friend's office.

"Hey Bones!" Booth said.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you at the upper platform with them?"

"We've finished." He said.

"Oh, ok. So then, I have to continue with what I was doing before…"

"No, wait. Come to your office for a moment, please."

"Booth, I have a lot of work to do, and I don't want to argue with you anymore." She said.

"Does that mean that we're never going to speak again?" He said smiling lightly.

"Of course not! I mean, of course we're going to speak…" She said, but he didn't let her finished.

"It was a just a joke, Bones." He took her hand and leaded her to her office.

"I know the way to my office." She said, but without bad feelings in her voice. She just made a statement. He didn't release her hand until they arrived at her door. She sat on her couch and he on the armchair.

"Perotta is calling Cullen to make the arrangements to get me discreetly in your apartment to stay with you when this farce begins. I know, I know!" He said, watching her disgust face. "I know what you think about it, but I don't care. Don't misunderstand me. I care for you and you know that very well. Don't try to turn my words against me. It's not going to work. Do you remember what we agreed in the hospital before he appeared?" He said looking directly in her eyes.

"We talked about many things."

"I bet you know the meaning of watch someone's six." He said with a low voice.

"Oh, that! Yes, I remember."

"Bones, Sweets thinks is a good idea for me to stay with you, just in case things get nasty."

"I can't believe it! What have you said to him?" She blurted out.

"What? Nothing! It was his advice to Perotta in order to go on with the plan with guarantees!"

"Guarantees? Now what the hell is all this? What the Hell do you all think I am?"

"And there we go again…" He said tiredly.

"Why can't you trust me to do this, Booth?" She asked angrily.

"What?" He asked skeptically.

"You've heard me!"

"Yes, I've heard you, but I can't believe what I was hearing. How can you ask me that? I gave my life for you!"

"I never asked you to do it!" She yelled. Then she bowed her head, being aware that, what she had just said, would hurt him a lot. They remained silent a few seconds before Booth spoke again. He never stopped looking in her eyes.

"You did exactly the same for me yesterday morning, Bones… I didn't want you step in front of him but you did it anyway. I didn't ask for it, right?" He said with defeat in his voice.

"What did you want me to do, Booth? Let him kill you?" She replied. Her voice sounded as scared as she was just remembering that.

"You couldn't help to jump to protect the ones you love, Bones." He said. "That's exactly what happens to me." He took a breath. "If I had to relive the moment Pam Noonan shot at you I'd put myself between you and the bullet, again and again. But you already know that, because you'd do exactly the same you did if Corball was aiming me again, even if he had shot you." He said looking at her. "Bones, I trust you with my life. I can't believe you have forgotten that." He said sadly.

"I haven't forgotten that, Booth. I'd never do such a thing."

"Do you trust me?" He asked lowly.

"Completely." She answered. "You already know that."

"So let me stay with you. I just… I want to be with you if something happens to you. I'm not in perfect conditions, but I'm enough ok to be able to face everything, as long as I stay with you. I know you just want to protect me, right?" He said softly.

"Of course I want to protect you. That's just why I don't want you there. Because I'm not sure if your skills are ready, and if something happens to me I won't be able to protect you."

"But maybe I could do something to prevent anything happening to you. But you wouldn't want me there even if I was in perfect conditions, Bones, for the same reason I don't want you to do it. It's not a problem of trust here, is just that neither of us wants to face anything bad happening to the other." He said. She didn't answer to that, not knowing what to say. "Bones, I'm tired of fighting with you too. I don't like it at all. One thing is our daily bickering, that's even funny, but I don't want to argue neither fight with you because of this. We both want the same for the other. We shouldn't fight for this. We should face the situation as we always do."

"Together…" She said lowly.

"Yes, together." He said, standing and sitting again on her couch, by her side. "I understand very well why you want to do this, and although I don't like the fact that you are gonna be the bait to catch that monster, deep inside me I admit it's not a bad plan."

"I suppose you're going to stay with me, right?" She asked finally looking at him.

"Of course. I couldn't do any other thing. We're partners and that's what partners do. Face all kind of situations together."

"Yes, you're right." She said. "But I'm still very reluctant to let you stay with me. But ok, I understand your reasoning."

"Ok, so I suppose I should get going with Perotta to finalize everything for it." He said standing up again and walking slowly to the door.

"Yes…" She just said. Before he left she called him. "Booth!" And he turned around. "Be careful." She just said.

"You too."

He left her office and called Perotta. She just remained in her office trying to put herself in order. She couldn't help to feel some relief knowing that Booth was going to stay with her. Although she didn't like to need protection, in fact she hated it, she knew, deep inside her, that that was the best option. She was glad that Booth had insisted so much in this. It was beyond any doubt that she must do it, but she felt a lot better because she knew he didn't let anything bad happen to her. She focused in her computer screen a lot more motivated.

After a while she went back to Angela's office.

"How are you, Bren?" Angela said. She was on her desk connecting the webcam to her computer.

"I have to admit that I feel a lot better now that Booth is going to stay with me at my apartment. But I'm worried for him. I can't help it."

"Of course you can't. It's absolutely normal. You love him and you don't like the idea of him being in danger. Exactly the same as him. But you know it's the best option." Angela said.

"I suppose you're right. It's just that... I must go on with the plan, you know that, but..."

"Sweetie... I understand you. You're scared to carry out this crazy plan to catch that bastard. It's absolutely understandable that you feel better knowing that the man you love and who can better protect you is going to be by your side, doing just that, protect you when Corball appears at your home. But you don't know what's gonna happen. You don't know if Corball is gonna play his star appearance at your apartment. Maybe he just... well, doesn't appear."

"I've thought about that possibility. That would be the worst to happen, because it would mean that he's gonna kill again. And that's just what I want to avoid." She explained.

"I know Honey, but a lot of things could happen, good or bad, and you won't be able to control everything. While you'll be at your apartment waiting for Corball to appear you must know that a lot of things could go wrong. Just that. But I feel better too, knowing that Booth was gonna stay with you."

"Me too, Ange." She admitted. "I leave you with the webcam. Call me as soon as you find something out about it."

"I'll do it." Angela answered.

To be continued...

* * *

I know, I know... I'm late again... I'm really sorry!!!!

By the way... many thanks to all of you that have reviewed my story! I love them!!

More soon...


	15. Trap

Hi everybody again,

Here is the 15th chapter of my story. I hope you like it. This chapter has some explicit violence, you're warned!

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

* * *

TRAP

Before Brennan left Angela's office Perotta entered.

"Hello, Ms Montenegro. Dr. Brennan."

"Hello agent Perotta." Angela said.

"I thought you were with Booth finishing everything for later." Said Brennan.

"He's talking to Cullen right now, and I have to explain what you must do from here, Dr. Brennan."

"I thought I was just going to drive home and wait there."

"Well, it's not that simple. I've been thinking about the show you were going to perform with Booth, but since he's on his way to your apartment we must think in someone else to do it." Perotta said.

"Maybe Angela could help with that." Brennan said, looking to Angela.

"Me? I disagree with that crazy plan and you want me to help you to carry on with it?" She said with incredulity. Brennan just kept staring at her friend, while Perotta waited patiently for both women to decide. "Oh, my God… ok, I'll do it. But you better have a really good plan and leave no loose ends."

"We have everything already planned, don't worry." Perotta answered.

The three women fixed the simulation part and ten minutes later Perotta received a called from the Headquarters telling her that Booth had arrived and was at Brennan's apartment. Everything seemed to be going right. So the show began.

Brennan went out the main entrance of the Jeffersonian and sat on the first step of the stairs. She just kept looking in front with concealment, trying to stay calm. Five minutes later Angela joined her.

"Bren, you shouldn't be here all alone. It's dangerous!"

"Ange, I'm tired of being shut in the lab, I need some fresh air." Brennan said. This was true, among all this fake.

"Can we talk inside, please?"

"No, in fact I think I'm gonna go home now. I'm tired of being shut here, with Booth hanging around me all the time and making me go crazy!" She tried to sound as convincingly as possible.

"What? Are you crazy? With that killer just out there?"

"Ange, I need some space, and I must go on with my life. If I let every criminal to shut me I couldn't be what I am! So yes, I'm going home right now. Tell Booth when he wakes up. He's in my couch." She said standing up and going inside the building again. She had to go to the employees' parking lot to get her car.

"Bren, please, don't go." Angela begged, but Brennan didn't turn around her head. Just headed to her car. She knew Perotta has posted incognito agents in the parking, but she couldn't help to feel uneasy. She reached her car and sat on the driver seat. She drove to her apartment in calm, knowing that another incognito FBI car was following her. She arrived to her building and parked her car in her usual space. Again, she knew there should be agents watching her, but she felt nervous again. She closed the car door and walked toward the lift. She pressed the button and waited patiently. The lift arrived to the parking floor and opened the doors. She entered and pressed her floor button. The doors closed slowly. She was growing nervous every second. But the lift stopped just one floor later, on the first parking level. She put her hand inside her purse and grabbed her gun, ready to fire if it was necessary. The lift doors opened and what she saw left her breathless and completely terrified.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan. I'm very glad to see you again." Michael Corball was in front of her, but he had Parker Booth shielding him. He was in a FBI uniform and had a gun aimed directly to Parker's head. He had an earphone in his left ear, and a bag hung crossing his chest. "I've taken the liberty of pick up Parker from the school."

"Parker…" It was just a desperation whisper. The kid was blindfolded with a scarf and handcuffed. His mouth was also blocked with duct tape. He was visibly shaking with fear.

"If you don't mind, Dr. Brennan, take your hand out of your purse and throw it behind me, please." Michael said. He grimaced and took the earphone from his ear.

"Let him go, Michael. It's me who you want, so here I am."

"Yes, I know that, but I don't want you to shoot at me with the gun you have in your purse, so throw it now." He replied pressing the gun against Parker's temple. Brennan had no choice, and did as he told her.

"Let him go, please!" She begged. This was too much worse than she had thought possible to occur, and she couldn't let anything bad happening to Parker.

"Oh, don't worry, Dr. Brennan. He is free to go now, if you come with me." Michael showed her another pair of handcuffs. "On the front, please, you'll need your arms." He handed the cuffs to her, but before close them on his wrists she knelt in front of the little child. Michael released Parker, but didn't stop aiming the gun against him. Brennan took his hands and made him took a step forward, to her. She pulled up the blindfold and removed the duct tape from his mouth. Big fear tears fell from Parker's eyes, but Brennan need to stay in calm at least in front of him to not scare him even more.

"Parker, don't worry. Nothing is gonna happen to you, ok?"

"Dr. Bones!" The kid said embracing her and making her eyes cloud with desperation.

"Parker, listen to me carefully, ok?" She said, taking him by the shoulders to look directly at his eyes. "I have to go with this man now, but your father is at my place. I want you to go to the fourth floor and then call your father very loud. He'll hear you, have you understood me?"

"Yes, Dr. Bones." He said sobbing.

"Ok, Parker. You're a very brave kid. I love you, and tell your father I love him too." She was crying too now.

"The kid doesn't go away until you close your handcuffs." She stood up and did as Michael said. Then she let Michael Corball, who was really enjoying the show, take her by the elbow. Parker pressed the button with the number 4 in it and the lift doors closed.

"How can you love such a rude man? I can't understand that. But, you know, it doesn't matter." Michael said. He was grabbing her firmly and guided her to a maintenance room. Then he opened another door that leaded to the electricity meters. There was a manhole cover there, an easy access to the sewers. He pushed her through it and went downstairs. The descent was a little difficult because of the handcuffs, but she reached the bottom and stayed still until Michael closed the cover and reached the bottom too. They were now in a total darkness. She hadn't any chance to escape running right now, because she couldn't see beyond her nose. Michael grabbed her by the elbow again and forced her to walk. She couldn't see anything, her walking was very difficult and was trying desperately to some reference with her hands. She suspected that Michael had some sort of night vision device. Even if she had wanted to try something it would be completely impossible in the darkness. This made her feel totally vulnerable, and she needed all her willpower to not let her brain collapse in that moment. She'll need to stay as clear as possible, if she wanted to have a chance to escape from him.

"You have no idea how many time I've been dreaming with this day. The day I'll be able to lay my hands on you. I can't wait to arrive there. You're a very beautiful woman in the darkness, Temperance. May I call you Temperance?" She didn't say a thing. "I'm sure there's no problem." She tripped and fell to the ground. She felt water under her and guessed that there was a little water stream running to the same direction they were walking. She thought that maybe she could leave marks with the water that Booth could follow, in case he guessed the way they had gone. "Be careful, Temperance, I don't want you to hurt yourself." He said, making her tremble at the real meaning of that statement. He grabbed her elbow again and made her stand up. He didn't release her and guided her through the sewers without hesitation. Her thoughts flied to Booth, who would be absolutely frantic. His son had been involved in this mess, and she was in Corball's hands. She didn't understand how he could abduct Parker and know when she was going to appear at her apartment.

"How did you know I was going to come to my apartment?" She asked, trying to sound as cold as she could.

"Oh, that was easy. Haven't you already guessed it?" He replied with irony. "Maybe you aren't so intelligent, after all."

"I'm far more intelligent than you, but you couldn't know anything about this plan unless…" In that moment everything fit in her head, but didn't finish the sentence. She heard him chuckle and knew that he was really enjoying all this. She wasn't good reading people, but she didn't need to see his face to know that. She thought that she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of listening to her voice again, no matter what. He seemed to concentrate on the way he was guiding her through the sewers and didn't say a thing for a while.

******

Booth had arrived to Brennan's apartment through the main entrance, dressed as a delivery man. Fifteen minutes later his cell buzzed. It was Angela.

"Angela, this is not a good moment." He spat.

"Booth, listen carefully to me. Corball knows everything about this plan, he has been watching and listening to everything we've done here."

"What are you saying?" He said with fear in his voice.

"Do you remember the webcam? Well, it's not a common webcam. It's a wireless camera with a microphone incorporated. It doesn't need a computer to record because it has a 3G internet connection, like the cell phones, and it was running all the time. We have discussed about the entire plan in my office, in front on the camera, Booth. He knows EVERYTHING, and Brennan is on her way to her apartment."

"Oh, God…"

"I'm sorry for not being able to find out this before. I couldn't get it installed in my computer and now I understand why. It's just blocked because it's transmitting everything that happens in my office! I'm calling you from Cam's. I'm gonna try to scan the frequency it's using and maybe I'll be able to give you a location. I'll send it to your phone as soon as I get something."

"Ange, wait a second, please…" He said. He had heard a cry outside, it seemed to be a child calling his father. "Angela, I'll call you later." He said, hanging up the phone. The child cried again, louder this time. A cold shiver ran through his spine. With the gun in his hand he opened the door and saw what his gut was telling him but he refused to believe.

"Oh, God… Parker!!" He yelled, running fast to his kid and kneeling in front of him.

"Daddy!!" Parker said sobbing against his father shirt.

"Parker, what has happened? How did you…" The question died in his mouth as his son started to speak. Sobbing, he explained everything to his father.

"I was at the zoo with the school and I went to the bathroom and a man caught me as a sack. He told me that if I cried he'd make you and mum a lot of pain, so I kept quiet all the time." He said sobbing uncontrollably. Booth's heart missed a beat and hugged him, and few seconds later Parker went on. "He grabbed my hand very strong and put me in his car. Then he put me this," he said raising his hands showing the cuffs "blocked my mouth with tape and covered my eyes." Booth took his hands and opened the handcuffs while Parker spoke. "I don't know how much time I was in the car, but then he grabbed me again and put me out. He guided me but I didn't know where I was. He pushed me all the way and then we stopped and waited. After a while he spoke again to Dr. Bones."

"Wait, what? W-where is she?" Booth asked impatiently.

"I don't know. She was in the lift. He said hi to her. She asked him to let me go, but he said no. She removed the blindfold and the tape so I could see and speak again. I was scared, daddy!" He said crying. Booth just hugged him again trying to comfort him. "She told me that nothing was going to happen to me and that she had to go with him. She told me to come to this floor in the lift and call you very loud, that you would hear me."

"Oh, my God… " Booth said. He couldn't help the powerlessness invade him and the tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

"She said she loves me, and she asked me to tell you that she loves you too." Booth dried his eyes before look at his son.

"Don't worry, you hear me? Bones was right, nothing is gonna happen to you." He said, standing up. Another agent was looking from the next door. "Buddy, I know you're scared, but this agent is gonna call your mum and she'll come here to take you home, ok?" He said opening the cuffs from his son hands and freeing him.

"Is Dr. Bones going to be ok? That man is bad. He handcuffed her too."

"I don't know buddy, but I have to go find her right now, you understand?" Booth asked his son.

"Yes, I understand."He said, drying his face with his sweater.

"I love you, Parker. Now go with agent Showne and do everything he says you to do, ok?"

"I love you too." Parker answered and the agent took him out there. The operation had been a total failure, but he must think very quickly if he wanted to have a chance to catch him before he escaped with Bones. Two more agents arrived where he was in seconds.

"Make yourself sure agent Perotta knows everything that has happened here. You can tell her that she better put all the squints and herself to work to find some clue that could lead us to Corball's lair." He said trying to keep focused. But the situation was too much for him and punched the wall with all his strength, making a hole in it, and cutting his own knuckles in the process.

"Agent Booth, you may keep calmed." The other agent said, concerned.

"I know, I know." Booth just replied. He caught the talkie and gave instructions.

"This is special agent Booth. Michael Corball has abducted Dr. Brennan somewhere inside the building. I want all the shooters look carefully for any sign from them. They could be anywhere." But in that exact moment he thought about something.

"Agent Marquez, there's some way in the building that has a direct access to the sewers?"

"I don't know, but maybe the super knows that."

"Yeah, let's go and ask him."

They asked the super and he told them that he knew the exact place they were looking for. He guided them to the same maintenance room that leaded to the electricity meters. They found the same cover that Corball had used minutes before to escape with Brennan.

"Definitely they have escaped this way. Look at the floor. Here are a lot of footprints in the dust." Booth said, opening the cover and taking a quickly look in it, but he didn't see nor heard a thing. In that moment the talkie talked again.

"Here agent Perotta, Booth, could you hear me?"

"Here Booth. Yes, I'm listening."

"Booth, what are you doing?" She asked, obviously annoyed.

"I'm trying to fix the fucking mess has become your crazy plan! I'm going to chase Corball through the sewers, at least I'm gonna try to find him before he kills Bones!"

"No, you're not! You're not in condition to do it, Booth!" She said.

"Perotta, I don't care what you think. You haven't been able to bring her safe from the Jeffersonian, and now she is in Corball's hands, exactly what I was afraid could happen. So do me a favor and do something useful, like help Angela to find where the webcam is transmitting. Over and out!" Booth said, as calmed as he could, but not enough, of course. He called Angela before going into the sewers.

"Hi Booth, is everything ok?" She asked, surprised for his call.

"No, Ange. I have no time to explain right now, but I need a favor, and I need it right now."

"Of course!"

"Do you remember the case two teens found a treasure in the sewers, years ago?"

"Yes, I remember."

"I need the map you made of the sewers, but I need it right now. Could you place a mark on it on Bones building and send it to my cell?"

"Yes, I'm looking for it. What's going on, Booth? Is Brennan ok? You're scaring me!" She said tapping frenetically on her keyboard.

"Ange, please, the map." Booth insisted. He didn't want to give her the details, but Angela knew that somehow Corball has got Brennan.

"Ok, ok, give me a moment…" twenty seconds later "… ok, I've sent it to you. It's big, so maybe it'll take some minutes to arrive to you."

"Thank you Angela!" Booth said.

"Booth! Find her, ok?" She said.

"I'll do, don't worry. Bye Ange." He said and closed the cell. He checked his inbox and opened the map. He and Marquez went into the sewers and turned on their flashlight and aimed their guns. They took a quick look around looking for something that could tell them the way Corball has leaded.

"Here, this way." Booth said pointing with his flashlight some point on the floor. "There is a big mark here, as if someone had fallen to the ground, and a lot of footprints are going this way." He checked the map Angela has sent to him and started walking to the west. They were following the footprints Brennan had been leaving on her way. In their pursuit Booth had time to think about what has happened. How was Corball able to catch his son so easily? He must have been observing them, studying his habits even with Parker. He knew very well that Brennan wouldn't fight him with Parker being in the middle. She has gone with him to save Parker's life. He was feeling a remix of gratitude and fear, because he was losing her. He knew Corball had made her choose between his son life and her own, and she hadn't doubted for a second. His son was safe by now, he'd have time to fix the trauma caused by the shock of being kidnapped with Sweets's help when he got Bones in a safe place.

******

Corball stopped below what seemed an exit and aimed the gun to her head again.

"Stop here." She did. After a few seconds a light came from above her head, because Corball had opened a cover.

"Come up here honey, and don't forget I'm aiming at you." He said. She didn't say a thing and climbed the steps carefully to not slip and fall. When she reached the top she found herself in a little room, with nothing more than a steel door. Corball made her put the manhole cover in its place and then opened the steel door. She couldn't help the tears fall freely from her eyes at the sight of the room he has for her. She remembered instantly the declaration Sweets had read at the lab. This seemed an exact replica of the place where Anthony Corball killed his wife. There was an old rickety bed in the middle with belts in the headboard and in its foot. It also has cuffs with iron spikes on the inner side, totally rusted. She guessed that was she same one where his mother died, and that thought threatened to make her vomit. Hanging on the walls and the ceiling there were lots and lots of torture items, as well as knifes, shackles and more belts. Corball pushed her through the room to the left side, where there was a pair of shackles on the ground hooked to a chain that was hanging on the ceiling with a pulley system. He pushed her violently and she fell to the floor on her knees.

"Close the shackles around your ankles." He said, aiming at her head. She remained in complete silence and without moving a muscle. If he wanted her ankles in there he'd have do it himself. "Temperance, I don't like to repeat myself." He said calmly. But she didn't move. "As you want." He said, and hit her on the face with the back of his left hand. She fell unconscious on the ground.

When she woke, for a moment she didn't know where she was, but found herself hanging from her ankles upside down from the ceiling. She remembered everything in that instant. She could see a little puddle of blood on the floor, just under she was hanging. She checked her face with her still handcuffed hands and found a wound on her left eyebrow. She tried to reach the chain from which she was hanging, but couldn't, and the movements made the metal shackles cause her an intense pain on her ankles, because the metal bit her flesh. She couldn't help to start sobbing desperately.

Corball was sat looking at her on her back, so she couldn't see him. He had been waiting patiently for her to wake, and now he could start with her.

"Hello again, Temperance." He said, grinning. A cold shiver ran through her spine. "I'd like to make you feel more comfortable, but you know, you have behaved badly to me, so I've thought that it'd be better for me to start enjoying you." He said turning around her so she could see him. He had a pair of scissors on his left hand. He left them on a table and ducked in front of her face. She tried to hit him with her handcuffed hands, but he was faster than she thought and he dodged before she could touch him. Then he caught a leather belt, grabbed her hands and adjusted it to the chain from which she was hanging and to the handcuffs. This way she couldn't move her arms. Grabbing the scissors from the table, he ducked again in front of her face and pressed them against her neck. "You are a brilliant woman, Temperance. I admire you and your work. I'm sure you remember me." He said, sliding the scissors all over her neck. He saw the terror on her face and that pleased him. "I remember your lessons. I loved your way to explain the concepts, always so clinical and empirical. I know you tried to help me, and I've been grateful for that since then. Because of that I'm not gonna kill you. At least not right now." He stood up slowly and went on with his speech. "You know what? I was in love with Claire, but she treated me as if I was some sort of maniac. She was beautiful and very intelligent. Of course not as much as you are. I suspect your intelligence is very difficult to beat. She told me once that she loved me, you know? But she lied. She was feeling sorry for me and thought that it was a better idea to lie to me than to tell me the truth." He was walking all around the room while talking. "But oh, yes, she knew that what she was doing wasn't the right thing. She cheated on me. She was sleeping with other men. Not one, and not two. Three, she was sleeping with three men at the same time. But oddly not with me. I couldn't understand why. I always tried to be nice to her, and what did she do? She betrayed me. She was a bitch, a fucking bitch. She accused me of raping her, and you know? I did it. Yes, I did it. She deserved it. She deserved everything I did to her, though it was nothing compared to what I did to Karen and Caroline. I know, I know, I know what you think about what I did to them, but… they were so beautiful screaming for me, and their blood was so bright and red... I was so angry with you that I just couldn't help it. Although I must admit that I enjoyed every second I was with them, but I'd have preferred that it had been you." He stopped talking for a second and knelt again at her face. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you. After everything I've had to do to have you, you can be sure that I want to enjoy you for as much time as I can. Of course, I know this could be a little uncomfortable for you, and I'm sorry for that."

Brennan didn't make a sound during his speech. She knew he wanted her to respond in some way, but she was a strong woman and didn't want to give him that satisfaction. So she remained still and in silence.

"Haven't you got anything to say? You know, you're not too much cooperative here. You leave me no other choice than to punish you." He caught a scarf like he had used in Parker and blindfolded her. This simple fact was absolutely terrifying, because as almost the whole human race, she depended on her eyes too much. "Let's see what we have here." He said, grabbing the scissors again. She could feel the cold metal touching her leg, and knew that he was cutting her clothes. Still, she didn't move nor made any sound. He cut all her clothes until she was totally naked. Then surprisingly, he left her alone in the room, hanging upside down like a shark, totally naked and blindfolded. Desperation filled her like a wave, and couldn't help to start sobbing uncontrollably again. She begged silently, almost like a prayer, for Booth to find her soon.

After a few minutes she heard footsteps and knew he was coming again. She was cold, but she was absolutely determined not to react in any way.

She sensed him close to her. Then she felt something wrapping around her head. He didn't say a word this time, and Brennan didn't know what he was doing to her. The thing around her face seemed a towel, but it smelt of dust. Then a lot of very cold water hit her head, soaking completely the towel. For at least thirty seconds she couldn't breathe. She thought she was going to die, but remained stubbornly in silence. She just shook her head to remove the water as a dog when he stopped the water stream. She knew that was a torture technique used to not let the tortured person breath for a moment. But even knowing that she couldn't help to feel the terror invade her in the moments she couldn't take air. He did it again and again for a while, but he didn't get any response for her part.

He removed the towel from her head but left the blindfold, and threw it away. Then he went to the closest wall and grabbed a big knife. He had always loved the bright red color of the blood, and without hesitation made a deep wound on her left twin. She tried hard to not make a sound but a mute groan escaped from her mouth. She felt the blood slide for her naked leg. She couldn't fight him in that position and just remained as still as possible. Corball went on making wounds deliberately slow all over her legs. She tried to find some good memory to concentrate on and she thought about Booth. She tried desperately to fix his face on his mind.

Minutes later Corball seemed to get tired of playing with the knife, and left it on the table. She saw him catching a bucket and filling with cold water. When it was half full he put some chemical product in the water. She couldn't be sure, but she'd swear it was vinegar because of the smell. Then he just spilt the liquid all over her body and threw the bucket angrily away. The wounds he had made in her legs burned as hell. She couldn't help a little groan and a few tears slid from her eyes, but again, her determination let her remain in a stubborn silence. Then she heard him turn on some kind of machine and a few seconds later an intense electric shock ran through all her body. She tried. She didn't believe in God, but the Universe knew she tried with all her willpower not to cry, but she couldn't help it. She screamed absolutely desperate for Michael to stop, but he kept electrocuting her every five seconds. She thought she saw Booth behind Michael, and fell unconscious thinking about him.

To be continued...

* * *

First of all I want to apologize for not update before, but the muse abandoned me. I've needed some time to think how I was going to let Michael Corball get Bones in a "decent" way, and this is what has come out of my mind. Sorry for the macabre details, but I think it was necessary for the coherency and logic of the story.

I promise to update very soon, the next chapter is almost done. So, see you soon!!


	16. Rescue

Hi everybody again,

Here is the 16th chapter of my story. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: as always, Bones is not mine…

* * *

RESCUE

Booth and Marquez were still following the footprints and checking the map to not get lost. Booth noticed that they were walking westward, but didn't know exactly where they were, under the city. Then suddenly Booth stopped. The footprints disappear in that point.

"Here, they must have climbed this way. There are no more footprints from here on." He said.

"Do you think it's a good idea to go this way? We don't know where we are gonna appear."

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe we can go out through the previous cover, it was twenty meters before. We can take a look of where we are and enter from the street level."

"Yes, I like this option so much more than the first one. Let's go."

Booth climbed first and, before open the cover, put the ear against it, trying to hear any sound.

"We are under a street." He said, opening the cover and going out. Marquez followed him in a second. They scanned the street and immediately Booth got his bearings. They were very close to Corball's house, the one where he set a trap for Perotta, but not exactly in that place. The walkie talked again in that exact moment.

"Here Perotta. Booth, where the hell are you?"

"Here Booth. Right now agent Marquez and I are approximately two kilometers west from Brennan's building. We are out the sewers, in front of a familiar house I suspect is Corball's aunt." He said.

"Ms. Montenegro has contacted me a minute ago. She has been able to trace the signal from the webcam to the same familiar house you're looking at right now. We are on our way to where you are, so wait there, I repeat, wait there. Don't go into the house, Booth. It can be another trap."

"Ok, Perotta. We'll wait the cavalry for five minutes. If you're not here Marquez and I will go in. Over and out!" He said, turning the walkie off.

Hopefully Perotta took only two minutes to arrive in a S.U.V. with three more agents. The rest were waiting two hundred meters away.

"I believe he has Brennan in the basement. I don't think he suspects that we are here, so maybe we could use the surprise factor. The basement has no windows. I'm sure there's another manhole cover in the basement, because the stairs were half the length than the ones we have used to come out. We must keep watch there, just in case he tries to go that way." Booth explained to Perotta.

"I agree. You two, go into the sewers and wait right under the cover. Don't let Corball use that way to escape." She ordered the two agents at her left. "Ok. I suppose I can't make you stay away, so let's go in." She said.

"You're right. You can't." Booth replied checking his gun.

They surrounded the house in pairs. Booth and Marquez in the front door, and Perotta and agent Smith were surrounding the house and would use the back door to enter. Booth tried to open the door quietly but couldn't. Then Marquez took from one pocket a set of picklocks and he opened it in complete silence. The house seemed to be abandoned. There were lots and lots of dust everywhere, and all the pieces of furniture were covered with white sheets. But someone had been there, because there were a lot of footprints on the floor. They met Perotta and Smith in the living room. They decided to inspect the first and second floor before go to the basement, just in case. But they didn't find anyone nor anything useful. When Perotta and Smith were finishing with the second floor a metallic sound came from the basement.

They were getting ready to open the basement door when a desperate scream came from there. Booth recognized Bones' voice in it. He was going to open the basement door and ran to safe her, but Perotta stopped him.

"Booth, wait!" She said quietly but totally serious. "Remember that we must take him by surprise! This is our best option to catch him and to take her out of here alive."

"Right." He just said clenching his jaw. Bones' screams echoing in the walls. He took two deep breaths and opened the door carefully. There was a downstairs with walls in each side, so Corball couldn't see them coming until they were at the final steps. Bones' screams with pain and desperation were chilling his blood and making him feel absolutely frantic. He needed a great effort not to run downstairs and shoot him between the eyes without hesitation. They got to the basement floor in absolute silence, Booth first, with Perotta, Marquez and Smith right behind him. And then he saw the scene and a tear slid through his cheek, but he didn't notice it. He couldn't take his eyes from Bones hanging upside down, totally naked, with her legs covered in wounds, the blood sliding through all her body and unconscious. He had to fight back the bile that was threatening to find a way out of his body. But Corball saw them out of the corner of his eye and put himself behind her, shielding himself with Bones' body.

"Get away from her, Corball!" Booth shouted aiming his gun directly to Corball's head, but Bones' legs were in the line of fire. Booth could see how Corball's face changed to an annoyed one when he saw the agents there.

"Agent Booth… you really are a pain in the ass! How did you find me?"

"Stop talking. GET AWAY FROM HER NOW!" Booth exclaimed. But Corball's didn't want to give up so easily.

"No. You all better stop right there, or I fry Temperance right now and right here." He said. Unluckily for the agents the generator was just in front of Bones' head, so they couldn't shoot at it without hurting her, and Corball had just to hold his hand out from where he was, shielded behind Bones' body. He turned the wheel to maximum power, and held his hands with the electrodes very close to her body.

"Booth?" She said weakly. She had regained consciousness just a minute ago and had listened to the conversation between Booth and Corball. She was too weak to say something more, to be sure if it was him or not because she was still blindfolded.

"Bones, hold on, Baby. I'm gonna get you out of here." He said to her, as softly as he could, both for her and himself. He needed to stay in control, but with _his_ Bones in that state it was being really really difficult. With the confirmation about Booth being here she got even more anxious, because almost always something bad is about to end the patience just fades away. And Booth's voice increased that state. She began to cry and sob on the chain violently. Her ankles were hurting like hell, but she didn't care for them right now. "Bones, don't move, ok? We're gonna get you out of here, but, please, please, don't move!" Booth said to her gently. But she didn't stop, she couldn't even if she wanted. The pressure Booth was feeling on his chest was almost unbearable. He could tell it was causing him physical pain.

"You are too much self-confident, don't you think?" Corball said. He was scanning the room and his brain was working full looking for something useful, or even better, a way out.

"It's over, Corball. Let the wires on the floor and lie down, on your stomach!" Booth exclaimed.

"Oh, no, no, no way. I'm not gonna give up so easily. Specially after everything I've had to do to get to her."

"Shoot at him, Booth" Bones managed to calm herself enough to stop the violent spasms and whispered that. She hadn't energy for anything more.

"Oh, yes, please! Shoot at me. If you're lucky you'll just destroy her long and beautiful legs…" Corball said, touching her left leg, spreading all the blood pouring from the wounds all over it. "Come on! What are you waiting?" Corball provoked him. But Booth knew very well that Corball was just trying to make him lose patience. He knew he couldn't risk a shot against him while he was behind her.

And in that very moment the electricity went off. At the same time a bright ray of light came from behind Booth, pointing directly to Corball and Bones. Corball. Booth didn't waste any time and began to walk toward him aiming directly at his head, tried to electrocute Bones with the electrodes, but they didn't work, evidently, much for his desperation. Booth got to him from the left, grabbed his elbow, making the electrodes fall from his hands, and pushed him forcefully to the ground. Corball fell on his knees and Booth put his left arm around Corball's neck, from behind. He pressed roughly his gun against Corball's right temple.

"Please, give me another reason to pull the trigger!" Booth muttered in Corball's ear. "Or maybe you could just offer some resistance, please!" He said sarcastically to him, playing at the same game Corball's liked so much. But this time Corball didn't open his mouth, just bowed his head in defeat.

"Booth. Let me, ok? Go to her." Said Perotta, pointing to Bones, who was still sobbing. Without warning Corball she pushed him hard, making him lay down.

"On your stomach! You bastard!" Then she put herself on his back and handcuffed him with a total lack of consideration.

Booth didn't waste any time and lifted Bones a little, trying to keep her head as high as he could, and to release some tension from her ankles. In that moment the electricity came back on and Booth saw Marquez grinning proudly. He realized that he had discovered the electrical panel of the house right behind the stairs and had switched the power off without anyone noticing. That was why the power had gone off in that very moment. While Booth was silently thanking him for that great discovery Smith came to help Booth and let the chain down carefully while he held Bones. Booth knelt on the floor with her on his lap. He removed the blindfold from her eyes and as soon as he released her hands she sank on his chest, crying inconsolably. Booth just clutched her against himself in a tight embrace.

"Shh, don't worry, it's all over." He tried to calm her down softly. "Bo… Temperance… calm down, please, don't cry. No one is gonna hurt you again, I promise, it's all over… shh…" He was caressing her hair with one hand and clasping her against his chest with the other one. God, how much he needed to feel her alive. Even with her crying in his arms, he felt a great relief just feeling her alive.

Marquez handed his shirt to Booth and he thanked him with a glance. "Bones, I'm not going anywhere, ok? Let me put this shirt on you." He said. She released him just enough to let him put the shirt on her and buttoned if with so much care. "You know, this was not the way I imagined I'd have you naked in my arms for the first time…" He said, trying to release some of the tension. She laughed with him, and Booth thought that was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in her. "Come on, let's get out of here." He carried her in his arms and she just hang from his neck, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Perotta had taken out Corball and called the paramedics to check on Brennan. They were arriving when Booth went out with her.

"Here sir!" One of the doctors called. He laid her and let the docs work on her, never stopping to look at her.

Later, at the hospital, Booth was at the waiting room when he thought again about Parker. He should call Rebecca. She must be frantic.

"Seeley! Where are you? Are you ok?" She asked as soon as she answered the phone. He was right, she was absolutely frantic.

"Rebecca, calm down, I'm ok. How is Parker? Are you with him?" He asked trying to focus on the conversation.

"Yes, an agent called me and I came here as quickly as I could. He was terrified, but he's asking for you and Dr. Brennan. Where the hell are you? We have to talk seriously!" She said, changing suddenly the tone in her voice from normal to upset.

"I'm in the George Washington Hospital. The man who took Parker from the zoo used him to get to Bones. She exchanged herself for him. We've arrested him a few minutes ago."

"Seeley, listen to me. This is not gonna happen again. I'm not gonna let something like this happen again to Parker! It could have happened anything to him! For God's sake!" She shouted.

"Rebecca, don't dare to yell at me! You don't have any idea how mine, Bones' and Parker's day has been! Usually I'd be blaming myself for what has happened, but you know? Not today! This wasn't anyone's fault but the son of a bitch that has taken Bones just to torture her for his own evil pleasure. She has been electrocuted, wounded, and who knows what more. The doctors are running a lot of tests on her to make sure she's ok. So excuse me if I'm being a little rude, but I'm covered in her blood and she has been through a hell of physical and psychological pain just to save Parker from the hands of that monster!" In that moment a doctor called for him. "Doctors are calling me. We'll talk later." He said and hung up.

"How is she?" He asked impatiently.

"She's ok. We've run tests on her to identify possible internal damages because of the electrocution, but we've found nothing serious. We've cleaned and stitched all the wounds in her legs and were about to run a rape kit on her, but she doesn't want to do it. She says that he hasn't touched her sexually." Booth felt better knowing that.

"Could I see her, please?" Booth asked. His voice was a plea.

"Yes, of course. Follow me." Booth followed the doc to Bones' box. He entered the room and found her still dressed with the shirt Marquez had given to her. Her legs were covered with bandages protecting the stitched wounds.

"Hey…" He said softly while entered the room.

"Hey…" She answered as softly. She saw him covered in her own blood and a shiver ran through her spine.

"How do you feel?" He asked sitting at her right on the bed.

"Better now." She answered. Much for his astonishment she made him raise his left arm above her shoulders and curled up against his left side.

"Bones, I'm all dirty…"

"I don't care…" He caressed her face with his right hand. She closed her eyes and leaned her face against his palm, looking for the warmth in it. "How's Parker? Is he ok?"

"Yes, don't worry. He's fine."

"I'm sorry, Booth. I didn't know he was going to use Parker against us. I would never have gone on with this if I had suspected it."

"You don't have to feel sorry for that. This is not your fault. In fact you saved him, and I have to thank you for that."

"I couldn't let Michael hurt him, Booth. I had no option."

"I know, I know. Don't worry for that now." He said, pulling him tighter against him. "You're exhausted. You should try to take some sleep." He said lowly.

"No, I'm fine. Maybe later." She said. "How did you find me?" She asked.

"Well, Parker told me what had happened in the lift. The shooters didn't see you and Corball, so I thought that he was gonna try to escape through the sewers again. Angela sent me a map of the sewers system and with agent Marquez we followed your footprints. We discovered the cover from which you had gone up and Marquez and I used the previous one. Corball had brought you to the basement of his aunt's house. You already know how it ends." He explained, never stopping of hugging her and caressing her hair and face.

"While we were walking through the sewers I realized that he must have been watching and listening to everything through the cam Perotta rescued in the explosion.I suppose he was listening to it when he got me because he had some kind of earphone." She paused for a second. "Neither of us thought that the webcam could still be working."

"Well, Angela already did, but it was a little too late, because you were on your way to your apartment. But you're right. He knew what was happening. We were lucky that he couldn't have access to our internal communications during the operation, because he'd have known that I was on your heels."

"Yeah…" She said, closing her eyes again and making herself more comfortable against him. He never stopped caressing her hair and looking at her face. She was exhausted, although she didn't admit it, and fell asleep in the warmth of his embrace.

Some time later Angela entered the room finding Bones sleeping in Booth's arms.

"Hey…" Angela greeted lowly.

"Hi Angela." Booth answered.

"How is she?"

"She's fine, just asleep. Let's go out the room." Said Booth, releasing himself from Bones' embrace, carefully to not wake her up. He explained her what had happened, but avoiding the worst details. It wasn't necessary for her to know everything. "She's just exhausted. She fell asleep a while ago. The doctors have run many tests on her looking for internal damages, but fortunately found nothing. I don't think they keep her here much more time."

"I'm so sorry, Booth. I'm sorry for not discover it before. I should have been able to know that the camera was transmitting. Maybe we could've been able to trace the signal before to where Corball was receiving it." She said sadly.

"Don't worry, Ange. It's true, maybe we could've done something before, but maybe not. We'll never know that. But every one of us did everything we could, so don't blame yourself. I've been thinking and saying to everyone that the entire fault is Corball's, and I'm starting to believe it myself. But that's the truth. And finally it's over. That guy is going to spend the rest of his live in jail." Answered Booth, trying to make Angela feel a little better.

"Booth?" Bones woke up feeling alone.

"I'm here, Bones." Answered Booth, going in.

"Hi Sweetie!" Said Angela. She hugged her impulsively, but trying to not hurt her more. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, Ange, just a little tired. Don't worry for me."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie. If I had just a few more minutes I would've found out everything about the webcam."

"No, Ange. That's wasn't your fault. Anyway, we wouldn't have had any other option. Thinking better about everything we wouldn't have prevented Corball's from abduct Parker. In fact, I think it has been better this way. If I couldn't be there to exchange myself for him and we had tried to do something with him as a hostage, probably things wouldn't have been ended well for him. I'm sure Corball would have asked for me to exchange myself for Parker anyway, and that would've been a lot more dangerous for him. I don't regret the way we have performed the plan." Brennan explained. "I know I'm right, although there's no way to prove it, so there's no reason to worry about that now. It's over." She remained in silence for a few seconds. And just in that moment Dr. Daniels came back to the room to check on her. "Hi again, Dr. Daniels."

"Hello, Dr Brennan. I have good news for you. You're free to go home whenever you want. You have just to be very careful with the stitches on your legs, and clean the wounds daily. We have bandaged all the wounds individually, and every time you clean them or take a shower you'll have to bandage them again, at least for the few three or four days. And, the electrocutions you've been through could cause you to feel dizzy and sick for the first days. Do you have someone to stay with for those first days, or someone who could stay with you?"

"Don't worry, doctor. She won't be alone." Booth answered. Angela smirked.

"Booth…" Bones started to complain, but Angela didn't let her continue.

"Honey, you've heard the doc. You know I'd willingly stay with you, but if I have to carry you for some reason, I won't be able to do it." Brennan's face reflected exactly what she was thinking about that. "You need someone with you with enough strength to carry you just in case. Don't worry doc, Agent Booth will stay with her all that could be needed. Right?"

"Of course!" Booth said.

"That's perfect. The orderly will come in a few minutes with a wheelchair and you'll be free to go." Dr. Daniels said opening the door to go out. "Take care, Dr. Brennan." And she closed the door.

"I can manage myself, and I don't need a wheelchair or someone staying with me." Brennan said obstinately. She sight in frustration.

"I've brought you the spare clothes you had at the lab, so you can get dressed." Angela said, showing her a bag.

"I-I'll wait outside." Booth said shyly, going out the room and closing the door behind him. Surely he had seen her naked a while ago, but now the circumstances were different.

Brennan dressed herself with some difficulty, but better than expected due to the amount of wounds. As the doc had said, they weren't as deep as she thought when she felt them, and some of them did not even need stitches.

The orderly arrived with the wheelchair and a minute later a sulked Brennan appeared pushed by Angela. Booth smirked at the vision, knowing how much that was pissing her off.

"Let me, please." He said to Angela. A known feeling made him smirk again. "I'm having déjà-vus lately, do you think is serious, Doctor?" He asked playfully to Bones.

"Don't get used to this. As soon as I cross the main door I'm gonna stand up from this chair. I dislike it so much!" Bones said. Booth, Angela and the orderly grinned.

As she had said, as soon as the chair crossed the main entrance of the hospital she stood up. "Thank you for the clothes, Angela. See you tomorrow." Brennan said to her.

"Honey, let Booth take care of you. Don't be as stubborn as you use to be about needing someone's help. It's not a shame to need somebody once in a while."

"Bye, Ange." Bones and Booth said in unison and then they walked the few meters to the SUV.

"Bones, do you mind if we stop at my apartment for a moment to grab a few things, and then we go to see Parker? I need to see by myself that he's fine, but only if you are not too tired."

"Sure, no problem." She answered.

"Thank you, Bones." He replied with a smile in his face. After grabbing some stuff from his apartment they headed to see Parker. When Rebecca saw by herself the state of Brennan was easier for Booth to calm her. She understood what Brennan had done for her son, and couldn't be upset with her or him. Booth explained what had happened and she understood what Brennan explained to her: that probably nothing would've stopped Corball to abduct Parker, and things would've been so much worse if she wouldn't have exchanged herself for the kid. Parker hugged Bones and wept with the fact that Bones was alive. Even Booth and Rebecca had troubles to keep the emotion at bay.

Almost two hours later they arrived to Bones' apartment.

"I'm gonna take a shower and then go to bed." She said, thinking in the amount of evidences to analyze in order to prosecute Corball. She felt tired just thinking about it.

"I'll prepare something to eat while you shower." Booth said, taking one step toward her.

"I'm not hungry, but you can make yourself whatever you want." Booth's face couldn't hide how much that was upsetting him, but Bones continued. "I'm very tired. The guest room is ready. It's always ready just in case my father comes. There are clean towels in the bathroom closet. And anything you need, I'm sure you know how to find it." She said, more dryly than she had intended.

"Bones… wait, please!"

"What…" She replied stopping under the frame of her bedroom door.

"I know you don't wanna talk about what have happened, and I'm not gonna press you to do it. You know I'll be here whenever you need me. But I n-need you to do something for me." Bones didn't answer, but her face showed him that she was going to do whatever he asked her to do for him. He took a few more steps toward her, stopping two meters away from her. His hands in his pockets and a little head bowed were telling her how difficult was being for him to ask her what he wanted, even for someone as ignorant as Bones was reading people. "I almost lose you today, and I-I know that these d-days have been very difficult, for both of us, a lot of things have happened, but…" he took another step, taking his hands out of his pockets. "I just want you to stay with me for a while. I don't care if you don't want to talk, we could just stay in silence, or do whatever you wanna do. I just need… I need to feel you are alive." Booth took the last step toward her and caressed her arm with the tip of his fingers, leaving goosebumps under it. "Please…"

"Ok. I can do that. Although it should be enough for you to know that I'm alive just because I'm speaking to you. But I'll stay with you if that makes you feel better." She had taken another step toward Booth without notice it.

"I know you're alive, I don't need to know it. I need to feel it." They were so close now that they could feel each other warmth. But suddenly she felt awkward and moved away to her bedroom again. "But I need a shower first."

"Sure, I'll make something to supper, meanwhile." He told, the spell already broken.

"Ok." Bones entered her room and closed the door. Booth, feeling a mix of relief and uneasiness, headed to the kitchen. He was a little taken aback. A while ago, at the hospital she seemed to need him as the air to breathe, but now he had had almost to beg her to stay with him. It had been really difficult for him to ask her that. But this way, he thought, she couldn't hide in a shell from him. He concentrated in the task and started to prepare something easy. He was tired too.

Bones undressed carefully in her bedroom and removed one by one all the bandages on her legs. Her ankles were marked with an almost black mark all around. She discarded the thought and entered the shower. She wanted to run the water as hot as she was able to stand, but the wounds were hurting like hell with that temperature. Frustrated, she cooled the water and sat on the shower floor, trying to let the water took away everything that had happened that week. She didn't even notice the tears, at the same temperature as the water, being swallowed by the wastepipe.

When the water began to cool, she turned it off and grabbed the towel. She didn't like what she was feeling, because she wasn't able to control it. She just wanted to hide in the most remote hole she could find and wait for the chemical substances her brain was secreting against her will to stop making her feel that horrible way.

She was preparing the bandages when a soft knocks on the door brought her to Earth. She rolled the towel round herself.

"Bones? You're ok in there?" Booth said through the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, opening the door. "I have to put the bandages again. Give me five minutes, please."

"I'll do it. Come sit on your couch." He said grabbing all the stuff from her bed.

"That's unnecessary. I can do it by myself, Booth. Plus, I need to put my underwear, if you don't mind."

"I want to do it. And besides, it's easier for me to do it, so let me, ok? Go and put your u-underwear…" he tried to sound as normal as he could "… and come to the couch, please."

"Ok."

"Ok? That's all? No more arguments?" He asked skeptically.

"Yes, ok, you're right. Although I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself it's easier for you to do it due to your position in front of me."And with that she went into her bedroom again and put her panties and a soft tshirt to sleep. Then she came back to the couch where Booth was waiting for her with all the medical stuff. She sat on the couch and he knelt in front of her. He concentrated just in the task he had to do, trying not to think in her in just a tshirt and panties. He put some iodine on the lint and applied to every mark on her legs, so softly that she could barely feel the touch. Then he bandaged all the wounds again, one by one. And then he saw the marks on her ankles, black, purple and deep green, all around them. He caught her left leg carefully to not touch any wound, and brushed the bruise with the tips of his fingers. Even she could interpret the look on his face.

"Booth…" She called him. "I'm fine, ok? Look at me." She said trying to make him raise his eyes to hers. But he couldn't. "Those wounds and bruises will heal and disappear."

"I know. But… I-I'm…"

"No, you already said it. It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything to prevent this."

"Yes I could. If I hadn't let you do this… maybe…"

"Then maybe you'd be now cleaning Parker's wounds, or maybe something even worse could've happened. You can't go jumping to conclusions about what could've happened if you've done this or that... You'll get nothing good doing that, just torture yourself and feel bad. You should feel good because this has ended the best way for all of us. And as I said, these are nothing but wounds that will heal in a few days."

"I know you're right. But sometimes I couldn't help to feel this way. You know me."

"Yes, I know you. And just because of that I won't let you feel bad for this." She said, pointing to her legs. A few seconds passed and then Booth raised his head to look at her.

"Do you have some lotion for the bruises?"

"Yes, it's in my bathroom."

"Don't move from here." He said, standing up. A few seconds later he was knelt again in front of her with a lotion tube. Then he put a bit of cream on both of her ankles and massaged them without so much pressure, to not hurt her unnecessarily.

"Ok. Let me wash my hands and let's eat that delicious pasta I've prepared." Booth said standing up. In that moment Bones was aware of the soft music sounding and that the table was already set for supper. "I told you that I'm not hungry, Booth!"

"Don't eat if you don't want. More for me!" He said smiling. And she smiled too. "It'd make you feel better if you eat a bit, at least." He said, concerned.

"I know…"

Finally they sat on the table and eat the pasta Booth had cooked. She just ate a little bit, and really felt better. They cleared the table and wash the dishes in silence, just feeling each other. Then they just sat on the couch, listening to the soft music. Bones leaned her head on the couch and closed her eyes. Booth turned to her side and leaned too his head against the couch. He stared at her for a few seconds, thanking God to let him stay in that exact place right now, just watching her breathing. Booth put his left arm behind her head, and with his hand on her left shoulder pull her against him. She knew he needed it, and although she'd never have admitted it, she needed it too, as much as him. She leaned her head against her chest and her left hand on his waist. She put her right hand on his back. As soon as her head touched his chest she felt Booth's arms embracing her, protecting her from the whole world, and giving her all the warmth that the day had stolen from her. Without noticing the time, they found comfort in each other arms, just concentrating in their breathing rhythmic movements. Sometime later the music ended, but neither of them moved. They just stayed still, not daring to move, Bones listening to Booth's heart and Booth feeling her breathing against his body. And in that position, both being exhausted, they fell asleep.

Sometime later Booth woke up feeling Bones moving involuntarily in her dream, and he knew she was having a nightmare.

"Bones…" He tried softly first, but she didn't wake up. "Bones, wake up! You're dreaming…"He said, and she opened her eyes in terror. "Hey, it's ok, it was just a dream, it's not real."

"Booth…" She just said, trying to normalize her breathing. "I was there again… He was there…"

"No, it was just a nightmare, a bad one, but just a nightmare. It's not real. Nothing is gonna happen to you. Come on, let's get you into bed. You need to be somewhere more comfortable than here."

"I was very comfortable, Booth"

"As glad as I am to hear you say that, you need to rest properly." He said, guiding her to her own bedroom. He pulled the sheets and made her lie down.

"Booth, could I ask you something?" She said before he could leave.

"Of course."

"I'd appreciate very much if you could stay with me for a while." She said, leaving Booth astonished. When a moment passed and he was very still and not saying anything in return she continued. "As irrational as it may sound I'm afraid of closing my eyes, because every time I do it I saw his face, and I'm back hanging from that chain again…" She just added. Booth didn't say anything, but sat on the bed ready to lie down besides her. "You know, Booth, I doubt you could be very comfortable sleeping in those pants. You could take them off, if you want. Although you have a problem with that…" She just said.

"No, of course not…" He answered shyly, but did as she said. Then he lay down on her bed. He couldn't help to feel a little uncomfortable at first, but she astonished him again when she turned her back to him and curled against his chest. He was a little shocked for a moment, but then passed and put his arms around her in a very intimate embrace.

"Thank you Booth." She said holding his arms with her hands making him understand that she really needed this. "Will you be able to sleep this way?" She asked naively.

"Yes, yes, of course. There's no problem with that!"

"Ok, good night, Booth."

"Good night, Bones."

A few hours later Bones woke up. She felt Booth's arms still holding her and instantly felt good. She listened to his rhythmical breathe and knew he was asleep. She kept as still as she could for a few minutes, trying to keep her brain off. But her mind was on autopilot and fully awake now, and couldn't stop. She was trying to understand why this felt so right, to be this way with Booth. She was trying really hard to understand what she was feeling, because she has never felt something like that for anyone. Sure she had cared about someone before Booth, but never with this intensity. That was scaring her the most. Because she had always controlled herself very well, and now she couldn't. But the fact was that now or later, to lose Booth is something that she couldn't bear. She already knew that. Angela was right. If she didn't make the right choice she could lose him forever. The only man that really had got enough patience to know her, the only man that hadn't run from her, that hadn't left her behind to go on with his life, because… because she has never let anyone get that closer to her. Of course that couldn't apply to her parents or Russ, that was different. Not good, of course, but the reasons were different. Booth had been the pillar in her life since she met him. He had made her more open to see the world, he had tried to teach her that feeling were a bad thing, and she was now the person she was because of him. Sure she had a lot to learn about people, but who could be better than him to learn from? And the most important was that Booth was the only person she could trust with her own life. She knew he'd never hurt her on purpose, and she know too he'd give his own life for her. Ok, he already did, and she wasn't sure that could be a good thing, but she couldn't help to be flattered by that. Although she'd do the same for him, she already did too. Again she thought about something Angela told her to think about. How did she see her life ten years from now on? She just could think about two possibilities: one was to be with Booth, happily together in a big house with a big pool; the other one was alone in this same apartment, and Booth happily married or taken by another woman, in a big house with a big pool, full of kids. And that made her think. What could she offer to him? She didn't believe in the "_and they lived happily ever after"_. And what about kids? But the more she thought about it the more convinced she was. She couldn't feel any other way about Booth than what she was feeling right now. She needed him to be fully with her, because if he found another woman to spend his life nothing could be the same with him. Their partnership would change into something purely professional, and it couldn't be like it was now. And honestly, she couldn't bear even to imagine him with someone else but her. So the change in their relationship was going to be inevitable, and it was in her hand to decide what to do, what way to choose. She tried, very hard, to extract her feelings from the whole scenario, but couldn't. She felt selfish in that moment, because the decision was made, and she hadn't the strength she thought she had to decide against her feelings. They were just too intense, too heavy. She couldn't ignore them anymore.

Then she stirred a little in his arms and he woke up.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked softly.

"Yes." She answered and he just held her tighter and placed a light kiss on her temple.

"I need some water." Booth said, releasing her and standing up. She stood up too and followed him to the kitchen. "Booth, I promised Angela that I'd make a decision about my feelings toward you when everything ended, and I've done it. I've understood some important things that were right in front of me but I wasn't prepared for assuming them. But first of all, I want to say sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He asked, grabbing a glass and filling it with fresh water.

"For being so rude with you on the platform. I don't want you to think that our kiss didn't mean a thing to me, or that I didn't feel something. It was not my intention to hurt you. And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"That's good to know. And I know you, and I already knew that you didn't mean a word. But apology accepted."

"Thank you, Booth." She said. Then kept quiet for a moment and Booth took a step toward her and took her hand.

"Come on, let's go back to bed." He said.

"I need you to know something, but I'm not sure I know how to put it in words." She said leaning against the counter.

"Bones, it's ok. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, or you're not prepared to tell me."

"No, you don't understand. I'm prepared. I want you to know how I feel, but since I don't fully understand them, it's very difficult for me to put my feelings in words. So you must be patient with me."

"We have all the time in the world." He said standing right in front of her, still holding her hand.

"That's very inaccurate, Booth…"

"I knew you were going to say something like that." He said, smiling at her.

"I find myself feeling something I've never felt before, so I'm really confused… I… I don't know how to say it… it's frustrating!"

"So, you're feeling something for me but you don't understand it, right?"

"Well, yes, the thing is that now I'm aware of those feelings. They were there before, but I was ignoring them. But with everything that has happened to us these days, and everything you've said to me and what has happened between us, I find that I'm not capable of hiding them anymore. They've become stronger than ever, and, what I'm about to say I know it's impossible, but it's like they were growing inside me, and my body wasn't enough for them anymore. I know, it's ridiculous…"

"No, of course not. In fact you're explaining yourself very good."

"I know I told you I didn't want anything to change between us. I really didn't, but I've understood it's going to be inevitable. Now I understand what Angela told me at the lab."

"What did she tell you?" He asked.

"She told me that sometimes, when somebody searches too hard for something or someone to be happy with, doesn't find it, because is too busy just searching. Though I think she was mistaken in the searching part, because I wasn't busy searching but working a lot, I understand that what she wanted to tell me with this advice was that I'm happier when I'm with you than when you're not around, I feel safe when you hold me, even with those guy hugs you give me sometimes. I've noticed that my heart rate increases when I see you, and just see you smile makes me feel good." Booth leaned beside her as she went on. "I can't face losing you, and I'm beginning to understand that if I don't face what I'm feeling for you I'm certainly gonna lose you, because you'll find someone else to share your life, and you'll stop coming here late at night with food, and our relationship will become just professional, I'll not be allowed to have those hugs that make me feel so good, and you'll stop to come to the lab to make me eat when I forget, because you'll be too busy with your…" A tear slipped treacherously through her cheek.

"Hey… don't cry." He said, tenderly wiping away the tear.

"I tried, Booth, with all my will, not to cry, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction to hear me cry, but when he started electrocuting me I couldn't help it, I broke down completely. I thought I was going to die. But I saw you, or my mind tried to help me making me believe that I was seeing your face, and I knew you wouldn't let me die there, I knew you'd find me." At this point tears were running freely on her cheeks. "I knew that if someone in this world could to find me that was you…" She explained, and Booth instinctively pulled her against him and held her as tight as he could without hurting her.

"Of course I wasn't going to let you die, Bones!" He replied, and then kissed her head sweetly.

"Booth, I made a decision about my feelings for you." She said pushing him lightly to see his face. "I can't deny what I feel for you anymore, because, as you put it before, to ignore them is not enough for me neither, and anyway, I just can't hide them, I'm not able to do it anymore, and I've made the decision to accept them and try to explain them to you."

"Maybe I can help you to put a word to those feelings, and when you're ready, you could tell me. Bones, what you're describing is exactly the same I feel for you. That's exactly how I know I'm in love with you, why I love you." He said in their embrace. He kept in silence for a few moments before reply. "I'm really proud of you, Bones, for a lot of things. You're one of the strongest human beings I've ever met, even comparing you with a lot of guys I've met in the Rangers. But what makes me the proudest is that you're facing the situation without running away, nor pushing me away from you. And I know very well how difficult this is for you to do, and I know too that you're doing this for both of us. I knew you could do it, I trusted in your heart even when you didn't."

"Sometimes I think you know me even better than myself." She said.

"No, it's not that. You already had the strength to face your feelings, you just needed to find it. I knew you'd do it one day. And I'm glad you've done it at last." He said. Then he released her and grabbed the glass again to put it in the sink. But before he could come back to her, her words made him froze.

"I love you, Booth. I accept your reasoning about you loving me, and if that's true, then I'm really sure I love you." Then, after a few moments she raised her head and looked at a very still Booth. And what she saw impacted her. "Booth… you're… you're crying?"

"I-I'm j-just happy, Bones!" He said wiping rapidly the tear on his cheek. "You don't know how much time I've hoped to hear you say that to me." And with that he closed the little distance between them and kissed her again, trying to put all the love he felt for her in that kiss. And she kissed him back with the same passion. Booth felt her tremble in her arms. After a few more moments he released her lips and look at her, caressing her face with adoration.

"We should sleep, Bones." He said.

"Why? Don't you want to have sexual intercourse with me? Because I want you, Booth!" She replied, a little disappointed.

"Do you have to say it that way? Sure you can choose other words to say it, Bones!"

"Ok, let me try again. Do you want to teach me how to break the universe laws with you?"

"That's better… You don't know how badly I want to make love to you, but I want our first time to be perfect, I want you in better conditions because I'm planning to make love to you all night long, Baby!" He told to her ear with a husky voice.

"Don't call be baby!" She replied.

"You said the same when I started to call you Bones, so I think you'll get used to Baby too, Baby!" He told her covering them with the sheets.

"Don't. Call. Me. Baby!" She warned, playfully though. "It's going to be very hard for me not to touch you, but I agree we both need a few days to recover, at least until my legs let me move without the stitches coming out. And your head need to relax too…"

"You cannot say those things to me Baby, do you have any idea what that does to me?"

"Booth, if you call me Baby again I promise you I'll be talking about us having sex all the time!" She said as serious as she could.

"You're cruel! Ok, I give up, I won't call you Baby again until then. Come here." He said pulling her in his arms and kissing her temple. And with that they returned to the bed and they slept till the sun rose.

* * *

THE END? Maybe I could work on that missing scene when they both are recovered...

I want to thank you for being patient with me, and I'm very sorry for taking this long to make this last update. Sometimes I was busy, and when I wanted to write something nothing good enough came to me. But now it's done.


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